SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 
OR  REGENERATION 


R.C.DOUGLASS 


SPIRITUAL    EVOLUTION 


OR 


REGENERATION 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

OR 

REGENERATION 

'The   Law   and  Process  for   Unfolding   the 
Christ  in   Consciousness 

BY 

R.    C.    DOUGLASS 

SECOND  EDITION,  REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 


Correct  the  portrait  by  the  living  face, 
Man's  God  by  God's  God. 

BROWNING 


BOSTON 
LOTHROP,  LEE    AND    SHEPARD    CO. 


COPYRIGHT,  1903,  BY  R.  C.  DOUGLASS 


PUBLISHED,  FEBRUARY,  1903. 


All  rights  reserved. 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION  OR  REGENERATION. 


frou 

BOSTON 


PREFACE 

THESE  Private  Lessons  in  Practical  Christian 
Metaphysics  are  offered  to  the  public  in  response 
to  many  requests  from  our  students,  some  of  whom 
came  into  the  Spiritual  Consciousness  through 
them.  They  are  offered  in  the  same  spirit  of 
assurance  in  which  they  have  always  been  given 
in  class  work. 

Their  didactic  form  comes  from  this  first  use 
of  them  as  the  necessity  of  class  teaching.  And 
we  have  allowed  this  form  to  remain,  because  we 
conceive  it  quite  possible,  that  this  may  prove  the 
more  effective  way  to  impart  the  basic  principles 
of  Truth  to  any  reader,  who  will  consider  himself 
a  student  while  reading  them.  We  have  made 
certain  portions  of  the  Bible  the  basis  of  our 
reasoning;  because  those  portions  contain  the 
essential  and  fundamental  principles  of  the  phil- 
osophy of  the  eternal  order  of  all  Evolution, 
whether  Cosmical  or  Spiritual.  This  has  involved 
an  incidental  Spiritual  interpretation ;  showing  the 

5 


2024022 


PREFACE 

Scriptures  to  have  been  written  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching  Truth ;  that  there  is  a  scien- 
tific law  running  through  them  as  accurate  as  the 
law  of  the  more  physical  sciences ;  and  that 
the  highest  philosophy  is  couched  under  all  its 
histories,  prophecies,  and  figures. 

If  we  have  made  clear  something  of  the  pro- 
found Spiritual  philosophy  of  Christianity,  suffi- 
ciently to  lead  some  struggling  souls  —  who 
perhaps  had  stumbled  at  the  "  letter  of  the  Word," 
or  at  certain  dogmatic  teachings  concerning  it  — 
into  the  Light,  and  into  a  deeper  and  broader 
Christian  experience  —  into  the  realization  of  the 
Christ  in  Consciousness — until  they  have  made 
the  demonstration,  that  Righteousness  in  Con- 
sciousness is  Health  of  both  Soul  and  Body,  — 
then  we  shall  be  satisfied  that  we  have  not  labored 
in  vain. 

For  some  of  the  conceptions  of  the  Genesis 
Allegory  we  are  indebted  to  our  first  teacher 
in  Christian  Metaphysics,  Rev.  G.  D.  Robinson, 
whose  ideas  of  the  spiritual  aspect  of  the  Story 
of  Creation  and  its  perfect  Correspondence  in 
Man's  Spiritual  Evolution  are  strongly  reflected  in 
Part  I. 

6 


PREFACE 

We  send  this  message  forth  on  its  mission,  with 
more  than  a  wish  —  with  the  prayer  of  faith,  that 
some  Spiritual  Seed-thought  may  find  a  receptive 
matrix  in  the  heart  of  each  reader,  where  it  shall 
do  its  regenerative  work,  and  bring  forth  fruit  in  a 
Regenerated  Life. 

R.  C.  DOUGLASS. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  GENESIS  SYMBOLOGY.  13 

I.     The  Awakening 21 

II.     Denial  —  Discrimination 47 

III.  Affirmation  —  Concentration      ....  72 

IV.  The  "Two  Great  Lights" 97 

V.     Thought  and  Expression 119 

VI.     The  Man  that  God  Made 144 

PART   II. 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  CHRIST  SYMBOLOGY.  171 
VII.     The   Immaculate    Conception    and   New 

Birth 179 

VIII.     Unfoldment  in  Wisdom  unto  Manhood  .  206 

IX.     Overcoming  —  "The  Wilderness"       .     .  230 

X.     The  Demonstrations  of  the  Adept      .     .  250 

XI.     "Gethsemane" — Self- Renunciation   .     .  275 

XII.     "The  Crucifixion"  —  Elimination  of  the 

Self 298 

XIII.     "  Resurrection  "  —  "  The      Sabbath  "  — 

The  Christ-Consciousness     .     .     .     .  321 

Conclusion 344 

9 


SPIRITUAL    EVOLUTION 


REGENERATION 


PART    I 

FOLLOWING    THE    "SIX    DAYS"    OF    THE 
GENESIS    SYMBOLOGY 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

PART   I 

THE  GENESIS   SYMBOLOGY 

THE  object  of  these  pages  is  not  Theological 
controversy,  nor  the  exploiting  of  the  "  higher 
criticism,"  since  the  author  lays  no  claim  to  theo- 
logical training.  Nevertheless,  all  study  of  Truth 
in  the  nature  of  the  case  involves  controversy,  and 
touches  elbows  with  Theology.  In  the  nature  of 
man's  being,  as  a  Spiritual  Son  of  a  Spiritual 
Father,  any  man  may  be  taught  of  God,  inde- 
pendent of  the  schools,  who  will  discipline  him- 
self properly  in  meditation.  Because  by  thus 
"  entering  into  his  closet,"  he  may  come  en 
rapport  with  Omniscience,  and  be  instructed  like 
the  prophets  of  old. 

The  one  thing  all  the  world  is  seeking  is  Truth. 
This  is  the  "  Pearl  of  Great  Price,"  which  we  are 

'3 


INTRODUCTION 

exhorted  to  "seek"  — tc  "search  for  as  for  hid 
treasures ;  "  and  which  when  found  satisfies  the 
hunger  of  the  soul.  Truth  is  eternal,  unchange- 
able, Spiritual  Principle,  —  like  the  "  seamless 
robe,"  symmetrical  and  unrendable,  rather  than  a 
debatable,  uncertain,  intellectual  conception.  Lu- 
cretia  Mott  said :  "Truth  for  authority,  not  author- 
ity for  Truth."  Because  Truth  is  eternal  Principle, 
the  great  Teacher  of  Truth  said :  "  I  Am  Truth." 
By  identifying  himself  with  the  Christ,  the  Princi- 
ple of  Truth,  He  "  spake  as  one  having  authority." 
Truth,  therefore,  is  Divine  and  of  priceless  value. 
Pilate's  query  is  the  question  of  the  ages,  never 
solved,  as  long  as  men  search  only  through  intel- 
lect, objectively.  As  our  life  is  first  developed 
along  lines  of  objectivity,  we  naturally  first  seek 
for  Truth  intellectually,  as  though  it  were  an 
objective  something,  which  the  mind  can  handle 
and  analyze.  It  is  because  of  this  established 
habit  of  objective  living  and  thinking  that  we  con- 
tinue this  blind  search  in  the  darkness. 

But  Spiritual  Truth  is  not  found  that  way; 
because  primarily  it  is  not  a  thing  of  Intellect. 
For  since  all  Truth  is  Spiritual,  it  can  only  be 
"  Spiritually  discerned."  Then  after  having  once 


INTRODUCTION 

conceived  the  Spiritual  Idea,  we  may  proceed  to 
clothe  it  in  intellectual  formula ;  that  by  means 
of  the  symbolism  of  words  we  may  convey  to 
another  our  conception. 

This  is  the  way  all  the  Prophets  wrote,  the  way 
all  Truth  is  found.  The  reason  the  "  Word  of  the 
Lord  "  spoken  by  Prophets  had  so  great  power  is 
because  they  received  it  direct  from  the  great 
Fountain  of  Infinite  Wisdom;  which  enabled 
them  to  speak  from  the  standpoint  of  Truth,  — 
with  authority. 

Christ  is  called  "  The  Word  "  — the  Logos,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  Father.  This  was  the  concep- 
tion of  the  Greeks  five  hundred  years  before 
Christ.  This  was  the  conception  of  St.  John  and 
Philo,  and  according  to  the  Kabbalists,  who  were 
profound  metaphysicians,  this  was  the  conception 
of  the  Hebrews.  For  Joseph.us  in  his  treatise  on 
"  Hades  "  addressed  to  the  Greeks,  said  :  "  What 
you  Greeks  call  Logos,  we  Jews  call  Christ."  The 
Hebrew,  Chokmah  (Wisdom),  is  their  term  for 
this  Wisdom-Word  or  principle,  which  is  the 
second  Sephira,  and  which,  like  the  Logos,  pro- 
ceeds from  the  Father  (Kether,  the  first  Sephira). 
Thus  Chokmah  is  the  Son ;  and  yet  he  is  called 

15 


INTRODUCTION 

"  the  active  and  evident  Father ;  "  to  whom  the 
Mother  is  united  —  Binah  (the  Understanding), 
the  third  Sephira.  From  the  union  of  the  mascu- 
line Chokmah  and  the  feminine  Binah  proceed  all 
Creations.  This  is  why  Christ  is  called  "  The 
Everlasting  Father "  in  Is.  9  : 6.  The  other 
names  ascribed  to  Chokmah  are  Ya/t,  Yahveh 
(I  Am). 

It  is  evident  that  all  these  terms  refer  to  a 
great  Spiritual  Principle  within  us,  establishing 
the  fact  that  Christ  is  the  great  Principle  of 
Divinity  in  Man.  And  so  the  Father  is  forever 
honoring  and  working  through  the  Son.  For  the 
Son  is  the  Eternal  Word  (Logos),  by  which  the 
worlds  were  made ;  "  and  without  the  Word  was 
not  anything  made  that  was  made." 

Thus  Christ  is  the  Impersonal  WORD  —  the  In- 
finite WORD  — the  Logos — the  Truth — the  Divine 
Idea  proceeding  from  Infinite  Mind ;  which  goes 
forth  clothed  with  authority  and  power  to  express 
itself,  on  all  planes  of  expression. 

This  Son  of  God  in  every  man  is  the  "  Essential 
Christ" — the  universal  Savior.  The  personal 
Jesus  ever  recognized  and  identified  himself  with 
this  Essential  Christ,  and  constantly  lived  and 

16 


INTRODUCTION 

spoke  from  this  Central  principle ;  until  he 
earned  the  distinguished  compound  name,  "  Jesus- 
Christ  ;  "  which  represents  Humanity  Regenerated 
—  Humanity  and  Divinity  united,  making  the 
Divine-Human. 

Thus  Christ  is  "  The  Word  of  God ;  "  which  is 
"  The  sword  of  the  Spirit,"  —  "  sharper  than  any 
two-edged  sword,"  — "  dividing  asunder  Soul  and 
Spirit."  Let  us  see  what  is  the  force  of  these 
terms. 

As  God  is  a  Trinity,  —  Father,  Mother,  Son  — 
so  Man  is  a  trinity,  —  Spirit,  Soul,  and  Body.  In 
both  cases  the  three  are  one.  Of  the  Human 
trinity  the  "  Spirit "  is  the  Divine  part  of  man  ;  the 
"  Soul "  is  the  Human  Consciousness,  needing 
salvation  by  instruction  in  Wisdom;  and  the 
"  Body "  is  the  outward  expression  of  the  Soul, 
which  is  as  far  from  perfection  as  is  the  Soul,  — 
and  the  Salvation  of  which  is  wrought  through 
the  Soul's  redemption. 

With  this  analysis  of  man's  nature  we  may 
understand  how  the  "  Sword  of  the  Spirit "  can 
"  divide  asunder  Soul  and  Spirit." 

Man  has  lived  so  fully  in  the  mere  animal  con- 
sciousness that  he  cannot  distinguish  between 

17 


INTRODUCTION 

"  soul "  and  "  spirit."  But  the  revelation  of  man's 
Spiritual  nature  is  made  by  the  Spirit  only  —  by 
the  "  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  "  — 
showing  the  distinction  between  the  sin-stained 
"  Soul "  and  the  incorruptible  "  Spirit,"  between 
the  Human  and  the  Divine  elements  of  his 
nature,  in  other  words. 

Man  cannot  possibly  aspire  to  a  higher  unfold- 
ment,  until  the  Logos-Sword  has  "  divided  asunder 
Soul  and  Spirit,"  enabling  him  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  True  and  the  False,  that  he  may  identify 
himself  with  the  Christ-Spirit,  —  Divinity  within, 
and  thus  unfold  his  highest  potentialities.  Every- 
thing depends  on  a  wise  choice.  With  this  revel- 
ation of  the  Spirit,  he  may  intelligently  "  choose 
that  better  part,"  and  identify  himself  with  the 
Divine  part  of  his  nature,  and  thus  ultimately  be- 
come Divine  in  Consciousness. 

Truth  is  something  for  the  individual,  and  is  dis- 
coverable by  prayerful  meditation.  Another  may 
direct  your  feet  in  the  way  of  its  discovery;  but 
you  must  by  desire  and  receptivity  find  it  for 
yourself.  Books  and  teachers  are  aids ;  but  only 
aids.  They  are  as  often  hindrances ;  because  they 
are  on  the  external  plane  —  objective.  There  is  a 

18 


INTRODUCTION 

Wisdom  higher  than  the  wisdom  of  the  world  — 
a  Wisdom  not  contained  in  books,  nor  taught  by 
man,  to  be  found  only  within. 

Some  twenty-five  years  ago  Joseph  Cook  said : 
"The  Heathen,  who  have  never  heard  of  the 
Historical  Christ,  may  know  the  Essential  Christ, 
and  so  find  Salvation."  We  have  called  such  great 
philosophers  as  Socrates  and  Plato  "  heathen," 
because  they  did  not  know  the  "  Historical  Christ ;  " 
for  which  they  were  not  responsible.  But  who 
shall  say  they  did  not  know  the  "Essential 
Christ"?  Certainly  they  were  devout  searchers 
for  Truth.  And  Christ  is  Truth.  A  larger 
charity  and  truer  Christianity  will  recognize  the 
Christian  in  every  genuine  lover  of  Truth  for  its 
own  sake,  though  he  may  not  know  the  "  Histori- 
cal Christ,  "  nor  accept  the  conventional  formulae  of 
what  is  called  theology.  The  broader  Christianity 
will  recognize  the  Christ  in  the  exact  philosophic 
statement  of  Truth. 

Plato  did  not  live  in  vain ;  nor  was  he  here  by 
accident.  He  left  for  the  world  a  rich  legacy  of 
Truth  in  intellectual  form ;  which  the  broader  and 
fuller  Christianity  must  in  the  coming  time  utilize 
in  a  broader  and  fuller  Theology. 

19 


INTRODUCTION 

The  time  is  come  when  Religion  must  be  scien- 
tific, and  Science  must  be  religious.  The  time 
has  come  when  Theology  must  be  philosophic, 
and  Philosophy  must  be  theologic.  For  whatever 
is  true  belongs  to  Christ ;  because  Christ  is  Truth. 

In  this  work  we  have  endeavored  to  search  out 
the  Spiritual  meaning  of  that  ancient  mystic 
Story  of  Creation  in  the  first  Chapter  of  Genesis ; 
which,  while  seeming  to  be  statements  of  fact,  in 
the  objective  world,  is  in  the  real  intent  and  pur- 
pose of  the  allegory  a  sort  of  compendium  of  the 
high  esoteric  teaching  and  metaphysical  philoso- 
phy known  to  the  ancients,  —  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  show  thereby  the  deeper  and  more  vital 
principles  of  the  "  Essential  Christ "  in  the  indi- 
vidual Consciousness.  We  have  emphasized  the 
Spiritual  Idea,  because  we  conceive  this  to  be  the 
essential  thing  of  the  Scriptures,  to  which  its 
histories  are  subservient,  and  for  which  its  alle- 
gories are  given. 


20 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 


THE   "FIRST   DAY": — THE   AWAKENING 

"And  God  said,  <  Let  there  be  Light':  and  there  was 
Light."  — Gen.  1:3. 

"  Man  is  Man's  ABC.     There  is  none  that  can 
Read  God  aright,  until  he  first  spell  MAN."  —  QUARLES. 

POPE  said :  "  The  proper  study  of  mankind  is 
Man." 

If  this  be  our  "  proper  study,"  it  is  of  highest 
importance  to  the  correct  understanding  of  Man 
that  our  viewpoint  be  correct,  in  order  that  we 
may  see  him  truly — as  he  is,  in  truth.  If  our 
viewpoint  be  human  and  earthly,  we  shall  see 
him  human  and  "of  the  earth  earthy,"  manifest- 
ing all  the  baser  qualities  of  humanity.  But  if 
our  point  of  view  can  be  changed  from  the  earthly 
conception  to  the  heavenly,  —  then  with  divinely 

2i 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

perfect  vision  we  shall  see,  as  it  were,  through  the 
eyes  of  Divinity,  beholding  him  as  God  sees  him, 
His  own  perfect  Son,  "  made  in  His  Image,  after 
His  Likeness."  This  is  the  True  Man,  truly  seen. 
Therefore  in  the  highest  sense  being  God-derived, 
and  not  earth-born,  he  is  not,  in  truth,  what  he 
appears  to  be  from  the  earth  viewpoint.  Heaven- 
born,  he  is  naturally  a  worshipping  being.  This 
has  been  his  record  in  all  history;  which  is  at 
least  suggestive  of  his  high  origin.  But  by  reason 
of  the  dark  obscurity  of  his  earthly  history  it  is 
not  surprising  that  in  all  the  historical  ages  gross 
superstitions  have  characterized  all  forms  of  relig- 
ion. Even  at  the  present  day  superstition  is  a 
large  element  in  religion.  No  form  or  system  is 
entirely  free  from  it.  So  much  of  the  effete  past 
clings  to  us.  There  is  nothing  so  persistent  as 
superstition.  Naturally  we  see  not  our  own  super- 
stitions; but  we  want  others  to  lay  aside  theirs 
and  conform  to  ours.  Therefore,  from  our  point 
of  view,  they  are  "  heathen."  From  their  point 
of  view  we  are  heathen.  We  think  them  supersti- 
tious. A,re  we  entirely  free  from  it?  These  things 
are  our  inheritance  from  the  rude  ages  and  ruder 
races  of  the  long,  dark  past. 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

We  are  now  in  the  Twentieth  Century,  which  is 
to  evolve  a  purer,  though  not  less  Christian, 
system  of  religious  thought,  free  from  the  swad- 
dling clothes  of  superstition,  — a  system  that  shall 
be  in  keeping  with  the  higher  intelligence  of  this 
progressive  age.  The  superior  intelligence  of  the 
present  day  demands  that  we  bring  our  religious 
ideas  into  the  Areopagus  of  sound  reason,  and 
prove  our  theorems  by  the  keenest  tests  of  reason 
and  philosophy.  Applying  the  test  of  philosophy 
and  reason  Swedenborg  called  religion  "  an  exact 
science."  So  great  is  the  demand  and  tendency 
of  the  times  in  this  direction  that  we  have  in 
"  Christian  Science,"  "  Divine  Science,"  "  Mental 
Science,"  etc.,  so  many  efforts  to  prove  the  princi- 
ples underlying  the  teachings  of  Jesus  to  be  true 
because  scientific,  and  scientific  because  demon- 
strable. 

In  this  treatise  on  the  practical  Metaphysics  of 
the  Scriptures  we  shall  endeavor  to  reason  logi- 
cally, philosophically,  and  scientifically  concerning 
God,  Man,  and  the  Universe,  to  show  that  Chris- 
tianity is  both  scientific  and  demonstrable,  and 
therefore  worthy  the  consideration  of  the  brightest 
minds. 

23 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

All  true  sciences  are  demonstrable.  Theology, 
the  greatest  of  sciences,  ought  to  be  as  demon- 
strable as  chemistry  or  geometry ;  and  will  be 
when  the  scientific  thought  is  given  full  play, 
when  its  doctrines  are  deductions  drawn  from  un- 
assailable premises  of  Absolute  Truth.  But  if  the 
superstitious  element,  which  tradition  has  handed 
down,  is  a  large  factor  in  its  formulated  state- 
ments, it  will  not  only  fail  of  demonstration,  but 
its  doctrinal  statements  will  degenerate  into  dogma, 
instead  of  being  scientific  theorems. 

Well  do  thinking  men  question  a  theology  that 
offers  no  higher  authority  for  its  statements  than 
bald  dogmatic  assertion.  Men  of  reason  require 
demonstration,  justly  repudiating  the  undemon- 
strable  as  a  false  claimant.  No  wonder  thinking 
men  have  fled  from  dogmatism  to  agnosticisms. 

The  old,  so-called,  science  of  Astronomy,  which 
rested  on  sense  evidence  alone,  assuming  the 
earth  to  be  flat,  with  all  the  sidereal  host  revolving 
around  it,  could  not  be  demonstrated,  on  account 
of  its  false  premises.  Therefore  it  had  to  yield  to 
a  better  system,  founded  on  eternal  principles  of 
truth,  a  system  which  could  be  demonstrated, 
before  it  could  justly  be  called  a  science. 

24 


THE  "FIRST  DAY" 

Just  so  the  old  medieval  system  of  dogmatic 
theology,  founded  on  the  letter  of  external  evi- 
dences and  traditional  superstitions,  must  in  this 
day  of  scientific  thought  yield  to  a  better  the- 
ology, resting  on  a  scientific  and  demonstrable 
basis. 

Why  should  not  Spiritual  as  well  as  material 
things  be  scientific?  Indeed,  since  the  Spiritual 
underlies  the  material,  the  Spiritual  sciences 
should  claim  our  attention  first,  as  fundamental  to 
the  material. 

For  there  is  always  an  exact  correspondence 
between  the  material  and  the  Spiritual.  Where- 
fore, if  one  factor  in  the  correspondence  be  scien- 
tific, the  other  must  be. 

The  great  teacher  of  Galilee  was  a  profound 
philosopher.  Wherefore,  all  his  statements  rested 
on  a  scientific  basis ;  without  which  they  could 
not  have  stood  the  test  of  the  ages.  A  system  of 
ethics  without  a  scientific  basis  would  be  quite 
unthinkable  to  the  scientific  mind.  Every  great 
system  has  had  its  philosophy ;  and  the  more  pro- 
found that  philosophy,  the  more  enduring  its 
power. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  reason  that  Christianity  is  so 
25 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

enduring  and  appeals  so  strongly  to  the  human 
heart  is  its  profound  Spiritual  philosophy.  But 
dogmatism,  which  ignores  philosophy,  has  shorn 
it  of  this  greatest  element  of  power. 

If  a  philosophic  and  scientific  Christianity,  in- 
stead of  dogmatic  Church-ianity,  can  be  taught 
the  people,  we  shall  have  a  religious  system  most 
enduring,  because  founded  on  the  strongest  ele- 
ments of  human  nature,  the  religious  and  the 
scientific  combined. 

The  materialistic  thought  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion has  materialized  and  occidentalizcd  Christi- 
anity, so  that  it  has  lost  the  beautiful  Spiritual 
philosophy,  originally  its  basis,  which  it  inherited 
from  the  most  ancient  civilization  of  which  we 
have  any  accurate  knowledge,  that  of  its  ancestors, 
the  Aryans,  whose  schools  of  Spiritual  philosophy 
have  with  wonderful  persistency  continued  all  the 
way  down  to  the  Christian  era,  appearing  in  modi- 
fied form  in  Egypt,  Chaldea,  and  Greece,  and  in 
the  schools  of  the  prophets  among  the  Hebrews. 

Rabold  points  out  a  long  line  of  these  Divinity 
Schools,  where  devout  students  assembled  to  study 
the  philosophy  of  God  and  man  thousands  of  years 
before  our  era.  The  first  thing  required  of  these 

26 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

students  was  to  lay  aside  all  prejudices,  that,  un- 
trammelled by  preconceived  opinions,  they  might 
be  open  and  receptive  to  Truth. 

The  starting  point  of  their  reasoning  was  the 
postulation  of  God  as  "  First  Cause."  Thus  they 
reasoned  from  Cause  to  Effect,  recognizing  Mind 
as  the  great  Creative  Causation.  In  this  way  they 
learned  to  develop  the  creative  power  of  their 
own  minds,  and  became  Mystics  or  miracle-work- 
ers ;  and  their  success  in  thus  handling  the  higher 
Spiritual  forces  successfully  depended  on  their 
living  clean,  Spiritual  lives,  above  the  plane  of  the 
ordinary  human.  The  feats  of  magic  performed 
to-day  by  the  Brahman  mystics  and  self-denying 
Gnanis  are  so  wonderful  that  their  narration 
would  scarcely  be  believed.  Yet  they  seem  well 
authenticated.  By  the  development  of  the  higher 
Spiritual  powers  the  genuine  mystic  was  able  to 
overcome  the  lower  natural  laws,  as  the  overcom- 
ing of  gravitation  by  levitation,  enabling  him  to 
walk  on  the  water,  etc.  In  course  of  time  others 
outside  the  Secret  Brotherhood  began  to  imitate ; 
and  thus  the  fakir  and  the  charlatan  appeared, 
causing  the  genuine  to  be  discredited. 

The    Hebrew   Prophets   were    students    of    the 
27 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

"  Ancient  Mysteries,"  and  therefore  understood 
the  secret  of  Spiritual  power. 

Elijah  was  a  true  mystic,  and  so  well  understood 
the  creative  power  of  thought  that  he  was  able 
to  sustain  himself  and  the  poor  widow  of  Zare- 
phath  a  whole  year  on  "  a  handful  of  meal  and  a 
cruse  of  oil." 

Doubtless  all  the  Prophets  were  mystics,  who 
learned  and  taught  this  "  Secret  Wisdom  "  in  the 
"  Schools  of  the  Prophets." 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  prince  among  mystics ; 
and  by  using  the  Spiritual  powers  inherent  in 
himself  he  was  able  to  overcome  physical  laws  by 
understanding  and  employing  the  higher  Spiritual 
laws. 

By  the  creative  power  of  thought  he  was  able 
to  multiply  the  "  five  loaves  and  two  small  fishes  " 
sufficiently  to  feed  "  five  thousand  men,  beside 
women  and  children,"  if  this  story  is  to  be  taken 
literally.  There  is  no  miracle  wrought  without 
law ;  and  he  who  knows  the  law,  and  lives  up  to 
its  requirements,  may  do  the  works. 

What  is  to-day  called  "  mysticism,"  "  occultism," 
etc.,  is  a  modified  relic  of  a  very  ancient  and  pure 
Spiritual  religious  teaching  —  a  religious  system 

28 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

of  prehistoric  origin  found  in  its  purest  form 
among  the  Himalayan  Hindus,  and  which  is  the 
parent  of  all  succeeding  systems,  including  the 
Hebrew  system.  For  we  read  that  "  Abraham 
came  out  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,"  where  this 
mystic  religion  was  still  taught ;  and  he  stamped 
the  spirit  of  the  "  secret  mysteries "  upon  the 
succeeding  Jewish  system.  Next  came  Moses, 
"  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  Egypt ;  "  and  the 
"  wisdom  of  Egypt "  was  the  "  ancient  mysteries  " 
or  "Wisdom  Religion"  of  their  ancient  Aryan 
ancestors,  modified  or  intellectualized  by  the  pecul- 
iarity of  Egyptian  thought.  He  was,  then,  a  real 
mystic ;  and  the  principle  of  his  ethical  system 
was  oriental  mysticism,  full  of  symbols  and  sym- 
bolic rites,  to  portray  to  the  mind  certain  Spiritual 
experiences  of  the  heart. 

Freemasonry  is  now  believed  to  have  had  a 
much  greater  antiquity  and  nobler  origin  than  its 
devotees  even  dared  to  suspect;  being  a  relic  of 
this  ancient  system,  which  its  allegories  veil  and 
its  symbols  conceal,  —  retaining  but  the  hollow 
shell  of  ceremony  as  earmarks  to  indicate  its  high 
origin  and  great  antiquity.  This  is  clearly  shown 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

by  J.  D.  Buck  in  his  wonderful  work,  "  Mystic 
Masonry." 

Those  familiar  with  the  Kabbala  of  the  ancient 
Hebrews  see  that  all  the  Prophets  were  the  high- 
est order  of  mystics,  that  they  had  in  the  "  Schools 
of  the  Prophets  "  the  secrets  of  the  highest  Wis- 
dom of  antiquity. 

Thus  all  the  earliest  schools  were  religious 
schools,  in  which  the  "  Heavenly  Mysteries,"  the 
highest  wisdom,  was  taught.  Then  the  mystic  was 
the  wise  man,  the  Prophet  of  the  Lord.  Now,  as 
then,  the  Spiritual  is  mystical,  occult  (hidden),  to 
unregenerate  intellect.  In  the  nature  of  the  case 
the  Spiritual  is  hidden  from  men  not  on  the 
Spiritual  plane. 

Since  Jesus  was  a  prince  among  mystics,  in 
order  to  understand  the  secret  wisdom  of  his  high 
teaching  it  will  be  necessary  to  be,  as  it  were,  "  in- 
itiated into  the  mysteries "  of  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven;  understanding  which,  the  things  long 
hidden  become  revealed. 

The  practical  purpose  of  this  course  of  lessons 
in  Christian  Metaphysics  is  the  training  of  the 
mind  in  Spiritual  thought;  so  that  we  may  be- 
come "  Initiates  "  into  these  mysteries.  "  To  you 

3° 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

it  is  given  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,"  said  Jesus. 

The  whole  Bible  is  a  book  of  "  Concealed  Mys- 
teries," written  by  mystics  in  the  language  of 
mystics,  —  in  symbol,  metaphor,  allegory,  and 
allegoric  history.  Therefore  he  who  would  dis- 
cover its  hidden  arcana  must  possess  the  key  to  its 
Spiritual  interpretation.  For  Spiritual  Truth  is 
inexpressible,  except  in  a  symbolic  way. 

Of  course  we  understand  the  story  of  Creation 
as  given  in  Genesis  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  of 
allegories,  and  not  original  with  Moses. 

That  wonderful  allegory  has  a  vastly  broader 
meaning  than  the  materialist  conceives.  It  opens 
with  the  fundamental  assumption : 

"  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth." 

In  searching  for  the  hidden  or  Spiritual  mean- 
ing of  the  Scriptures  the  first  thing  necessary  to 
do  is  to  eliminate  Time  and  Space  from  our 
thought ;  that  the  Spiritual  sense  may  be  realized 
as  Now  and  Here.  Time  and  Space  are  things  of 
the  world  of  sense.  God  and  all  things  Spiritual 
must  be  considered  apart  from  Time  and  Space. 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Eternity  is  the  unfathomable    and    immeasurable 
NOW. 

"  Now  is  the  accepted  time,  and  behold !  Now  is  the  day 
of  Salvation." 

The  fuller  expression  of  this  Genesis  statement 
may  therefore  be : 

In  the  ETERNAL  NOW  God  is  forever  Creating. 

The  real  vital  and  living  value  of  the  WORD  is  in 
its  Now-ness  and  Here-ness,  —  within  —  without 
Where  or  When.  The  Spiritual  or  essential  prin- 
ciple is  never  in  the  historical. 

"  It  is  nigh  thee,  and  in  thy  heart  and  in  thy  mouth,  the 
Word  of  Truth." 

This  Genesis  story  is  an  allegorical  portrayal  of 
the  Cosmic  order,  primarily  designed  to  show  the 
process  for  the  unfoldment  of  the  Spiritual  Con- 
sciousness in  the  individual.  In  other  words,  it  is 
the  story  of  Regeneration,  —  the  great  theme  of 
all  Scriptures. 

But  considering  it  as  a  statement  in  logical 
reasoning,  this  was  Moses'  first  or  basic  proposi- 
tion, his  "  Datum  "  of  reasoning,  —  his  first  postu- 
late, —  his  beginning  —  not  God's ;  for  God  never 

32 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

began,  either  to  be  or  to  create.  There  could  no 
more  be  a  beginning  of  Creation  than  of  God. 
But  considering  it  as  referring  both  to  the  cosmi- 
cal  and  Spiritual  processes,  which  follow  the  same 
law,  it  is  not  a  declaration  of  what  God  once  did  a 
few  thousand  years  ago,  and  only  once.  It  is 
rather  what  he  is  forever  doing,  world  without  end. 
For  what  was  once  true  of  God  is  forever  true. 

"  I  am  the  Lord  :  I  change  not." 

And  so  this  shall  be  our  Datum,  our  "  begin- 
ning," our  first  proposition  or  assumption  in  de- 
ductive reasoning  concerning  God,  the  Universe 
and  Man.  We  first  assume  or  postulate  God. 
Afterward  we  will  endeavor  to  prove  God. 

We  start,  then,  with  God  postulated  as  the 
Absolute  or  underived  FIRST  CAUSE;  and  from 
this  axiomatic  datum  we  are  to  make  our  deduc- 
tions of  Truth.  If  our  premises  are  true,  the  con- 
clusion must  be  true ;  and  we  shall  be  always  within 
the  sphere  of  Truth. 

There  was  never  a  time  when  Infinite  Mind  was 
not ;  when  it  was  less  than  infinite ;  when  it  began 
to  think  or  express  itself. 

That  is,  —  since  Thought  is  creative,  there  was 
33 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

never  a  time  when  God  began  to  create.  For 
without  Thought  Mind  would  not  be  Mind.  Thus 
Creation  is  a  necessity  of  Mind,  and  must  have 
always  been. 

A  beginning  of  Creation  is  as  unthinkable  as  a 
beginning  of  God. 

In  this  discussion  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  follow 
the  Cosmical  process  in  the  material  world ;  but 
rather  to  follow  the  same  process  in  the  Spiritual 
world.  For  the  Spiritual  world  within  is  the  exact 
correspondent  of  the  world  without.  The  unfold- 
ment  of  the  Spiritual  Consciousness  is  cosmical 
and  not  arbitrary,  orderly  and  not  fortuitous, 
exactly  as  with  the  world  without. 

We  have  a  world  within,  a  Spiritual  world  to  be 
created  or  unfolded.  In  the  process  of  Regenera- 
tion the  individual  starts  with  his  "  world  without 
form  and  void."  Everything  is  at  first  chaotic  to 
the  mind,  as  it  begins  to  think :  there  is  "  dark- 
ness upon  the  face  of  the  deep,"  —  the  darkness 
of  ignorance,  —  until  dispelled  by  the  Light  of 
Truth  through  sound  reasoning.  This  orderly 
process  continues  through  alternate  "  evenings " 
and  "  mornings,"  until  the  unfolding  soul  finds  its 
fruition  in  the  "  Sabbath,"  the  nightless  Day  of 

34 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

Spiritual  Realization ;  which  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  come  —  Salvation  realized  —  Regenera- 
tion accomplished. 

There  can  be  no  Spiritual  unfoldment  without 
the  Divine  Spirit.  There  can  be  no  Spiritual  Con- 
ception without  the  "  Brooding  Spirit." 

* '  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee  and  the  power  of 
the  Highest  overshadow  thee," 

before  thy  heart  can  conceive  the  Spiritual  Christ, 
that  the  Christ  may  be  born  in  thee,  —  before 
there  can  be  any  unfoldment  of  Divinity  in  Con- 
sciousness. There  is  no  Spiritual  Light  amid  the 
native  darkness  of  "  mortal  mind,"  until  "  the 
Spirit  of  God  moves  upon  the  face  of  the  waters  " 
of  the  mind. 

"  Let  there  be  Light,"  is  the  inevitable  result, 

—  the  Christ  is  conceived,  —  and  Christ  is  Light, 

—  "the  Light  that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world."     After  the  New  Conception  there 
follows  the  New  Birth. 

This  is  The  Awakening,  —  the  dawn  of  a 
brighter  hope,  —  the  beginning  of  a  New  Life,  — 
the  First  Step  in  Regeneration,  —  the  "  First  Day" 
of  the  New  Creation.  We  must  remember  that 

35 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

what  is  true  of  the  world  without  is  true  of  the 
world  within,  by  correspondence. 

The  New  Birth  makes  you  an  "  Initiate  "  into 
the  order  of  the  "  Brotherhood  of  the  Sons  of 
God."  By  the  true  "  Immaculate  Conception " 
the  Christ  is  born  to  consciousness.  You  have 
entered  the  "  Path "  of  Regeneration.  Hence- 
forth all  your  steps  and  experiences  must  be  in 
and  under  the  illuminating  Light  of  Christ,  the 
Living  Truth. 

In  this  "  First  Day"  of  our  "  Initiation"  let  us 
see  what  new  revelations  this  New  Light  will 
reveal.  For  we  are  now  in  the  "  School  of  the 
Prophets,"  studying  Divine  Philosophy. 

In  beginning  our  reasoning  according  to  Divine 
Wisdom,  the  most  fundamental  statement  we  can 
make  is  our  First  Postulate,  namely:  GOD  IS. 
Then,  answering  the  natural  inquiry,  What  is  God, 
we  affirm  God  is  BEING.  But  how  can  we  know 
what  Being  is?  The  only  way  is  to  begin  with 
yourself,  by  first  recognizing  your  own  existence ; 
which  is  not  difficult;  because  no  one  can  deny 
his  own  existence.  You  cannot  possibly  think  of 
yourself  as  non-existent.  Through  recognizing 
your  existence  you  may  recognize  your  Being,  from 

36 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

which  you  exist.  As  you  contemplate  Being  — 
your  own  Being  —  your  thought  will  expand,  until 
you  begin  to  get  a  conception  of  Infinite  Being,  — 
BEING  Eternal,  Omnipresent,  and  Omniscient.  In 
this  conception  of  the  Infinite  we  may  understand 
that  in  the  limitless  abyss  there  is  no  place  nor 
point  in  space  where  Being  is  not. 

A  distinction  must  be  made,  however,  between 
Being  and  Existence  ;  which  is  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  Unmanifest  and  the  Manifest. 

Ex-istence  implies  something  back  of  itself, 
from  which  it  ex-ists.  Therefore  it  is  not  strictly 
proper  to  say  that  God  exists.  For  this  were  to 
suppose  something  back  of  Him,  from  which  he 
exists.  God  is  ETERNAL  BEING  Uncreate.  Only 
that  ex-ists,  as  the  Manifest,  which  stands  out 
from  {ex,  out  from)  the  Unmanifest,  —  that  which 
appears  by  reason  of  that  which  is.  God  is  Esse 
(to  be)  —  BEING.  Man  is  Ex-istere  (to  stand  out 
from)  — Creation.  God,  Eternal,  Primordial  BE- 
ING, IS.  Man,  whose  Being  is  in  God,  ex-ists  from 
God. 

Now,  because  Man's  Being  is  God,  he  may  in 
consciousness  recognize  God  as  the  Being  of  his 
being. 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

BEING  or  Esse  is  the  original,  underived  Es- 
sence or  Divine  Substance.  Existere  is  that  which 
is  derived  from  Esse,  on  which  its  existence  de- 
pends. Existere  cannot  be  without  Esse.  But 
Esse  depends  on  nothing.  IT  IS.  Yet  there  is  a 
sense  in  which  Esse  depends  on  Existere.  For  as 
Mind  cannot  be  Mind  without  Thought,  so  God 
cannot  be  God  without  Man,  who  is  the  Thought 
of  Infinite  Mind.  Mind  implies  Thought;  Father 
implies  Son;  God  implies  Man.  Each  is  the 
other's  necessity.  Then  while  Esse  is  the  neces- 
sity of  Existere,  Existere  becomes  the  necessity  of 
Esse.  This  is  essentially  Swedenborg's  reasoning 
in  his  "  Divine  Love  and  Wisdom." 

Thus  it  appears  that  while  God  is  Man's  neces- 
sity, Man  is  God's  necessity.  Since  this  has  been 
always  true,  it  follows  that  Man  has  always  existed. 
For  what  is  once  true  of  God  has  always  been 
true.  God  was  never  alone  in  his  universe. 
Father  and  Son  are  both  eternal. 

Now,  corroborative  of  our  basic  statement, 
"  Being  Is,"  there  is  in  every  man's  consciousness 
the  unimpeachable  witness  declaring,  I  Am.  Here 
every  man  may  find  God  for  himself,  and  here 
only  can  he  know  him.  For  "I  Am"  is  "Jeho- 

38 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

vah,"  the  "  Lord,"  and  the  "  Lord  God  "  of  the 
Hebrews. 

"  I  AM,"  then,  is  a  statement  of  Being;  and 
God  is  BEING.  Therefore  in  the  utterance  of  "  I 
Am  "  you  speak  the  Hebrew  name  —  the  greatest 
Name  of  God ;  and  in  that  utterance  you  may  at 
once  recognize  your  own  Being  and  the  Divine 
BEING,  —  and  discover  the  inseparable  unity  of 
the  two,  and  joyfully  exclaim,  "  I  and  the  Father 
are  One."  Your  own  Being  and  the  Divine  Being 
coalesce.  The  Microcosm  and  the  Macrocosm 
blend.  God  is  inseparable  from  Man.  God  in 
Man  is  "  The  Lord  "  —  "  Jehovah  "  —The  Christ. 

We  may  never  know  what  God  is  in  himself, 
what  Being  is  in  its  essence.  Yet  it  is  every  man's 
duty  and  privilege  to  form  the  highest  possible 
conception  of  him;  and  by  means  of  his  largest 
possible  definition  be  able  to  convey  to  others  that 
high  conception.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  The 
Infinite  is  indefinable ;  because  definition  is  itself 
limitation.  The  Illimitable  cannot  be  limited. 
The  best  the  finite  being  can  do  is  to  express  its 
highest  conception  by  its  largest  definition.  Yet 
God's  Name  is  forever  unutterable  in  intellectual 


39 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

terms.     Any  definition    conveys    but    imperfectly 
the  individual's  conception. 

Definition  of  God  :    (My  Conception.) 

r  BEING,       ("LIFE,        f  PRINCIPLE, 
GOD  is<j    MIND,     J    TRUTH,  J    SUBSTANCE, 
SPIRIT,  I      LOVE,  I      WILL, — 

—  Omniscient,       Omnipotent,      Omnipresent ;  —  a 
Trinity  of  Trinities  in  Unity;   the  All-embracing 
INFINITE  ONE;  —  The  BEING  of  all  beings, 
the  LIFE  of  all  lives,  the  SUBSTANCE  of  all 
substances;  the  Universal,    Unchangeable  GOOD; 

—  the  ALL-FA  THER-MOTHER-SON.  —  For 
MAN  is   a    SON  of  GOD,  with   all    that  this 
implies. 

Reading  across  the  Trinities,  we  see  that  Life  is 
the  Principle  of  Being;  Truth  is  the  Substance 
of  Mind ;  and  Love  is  the  Will  of  the  Spirit, 

The  terms  "  Spirit,"  "  Substance,"  "  Principle," 
"  Truth,"  in  their  last  analysis,  are  one  and  the 
same  thing;  and  therefore  in  their  highest  use 
have  a  kindred  signification  —  all  referring  to  the 
same  Divine,  Primordial  Essence. 


4o 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

Aristotle  taught  the  Spiritual  nature  of  Sub- 
stance. He  said  that  "  A  Spiritual  Substance  is 
the  cause  of  the  Universe."  Therefore  we  may 
with  exact  propriety  say :  Of  the  invisible  Sub- 
stance of  Spirit  all  visible  things  were  made  or 
brought  into  visible  expression.  We  no  longer 
think  that  an  absent  God  created  the  Universe  out 
of  nothing,  nor  out  of  pre-existent  Matter.  But 
rather,  that  the  ONE  Imminent,  Omnipresent  In- 
telligence evolved  the  Kosmos  out  of  his  own 
Infinite  Spiritual  Substance.  So  that  all  things  — 
even  Matter  itself — are  God  in  manifest  expres- 
sion. As  Paul  said :  "  The  things  that  are  seen 
were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear."  That 
is,  Visible  things  were  evolved  out  of  the  Invisible. 

Modern  physicists  recognize  a  universal  Sub- 
stance, which  they  call  Ether,  invisible,  intangible, 
and  so  very  energetic  as  to  be  practically  omnipo- 
tent. This  exceedingly  subtle  Substance  is  a  fit- 
ting symbol  of  what  we  call  God.  Yet  it  is  not 
God.  It  is  still  too  material ;  for  Ether  is  regarded 
as  Matter  in  its  most  attenuated  form. 

The  Brahman  philosophers  say  that  there  are 
five  ethers,  one  interior,  as  it  were,  to  another,  — 
each  finer  and  more  potent  than  that  exterior  to 

41 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

itself;  and  that  the  Inmost  of  all  is  pure  Divine 
Spirit,  the  Original  Essence,  from  which  all  the 
more  exterior  ethers  are  evolved,  until  Matter,  the 
outermost  expression,  appears.  And  thus  the  In- 
visible becomes  manifest  in  forms,  —  the  Unmani- 
fest  becomes  Manifest,  —  God  becomes  revealed 
to  himself,  —  which  is  the  object  of  Creation. 

Hence  the  Divine  One  says :  "  I  Am  God ;  be- 
side ME  there  is  None  Else  "  —  naught  else  — •  He 
is  ALL. 

We  have  thought  that  Matter  is  solid  substance-, 
but  it  is  not  the  real  Substance.  Only  this  most 
interior  Essence  is  the  Real,  Primal  SUBSTANCE. 
Spirit  is  the  only  Substance,  —  the  Substance  of 
all  substances.  Strictly  speaking,  to  admit  another 
Substance  called  Matter  were  to  deny  God's  One- 
ness and  All-ness,  —  making  him  but  One  of  Two, 
or  less  than  Infinite  —  hence  Finite. 

When  we  understand  that  matter  is  but  a 
"  mode  of  Spirit,"  then  nothing  but  Spirit  will 
remain  in  consciousness ;  and  we  shall  be  getting 
away  from  the  illusions  of  the  phenomenal,  and 
finding  the  Real  in  the  Invisible.  We  are  awaken- 
ing to  the  Spiritual  Consciousness. 

The  other  factors  of  the  Divine  Name,  "  Mind," 
42 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

"  Life,"  "  Love,"  and  "  Will  "  will  receive  further 
discussion  in  a  later  chapter. 

The  Command,  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto 
thyself  a  graven  image  "  —  to  worship  —  must  in- 
clude a  mental  image  as  well  as  a  physical  one. 

For  we  must  not  picture  to  ourselves  a  God  in 
human  form,  with  human  limitations  and  frailties. 
Such  a  "  graven  image  "  of  the  mind  is  too  narrow 
and  restricting  for  soul  growth.  The  more  truly 
we  can  realize  God  as  Spirit,  the  more  nearly  we 
can  comprehend  Infinity  by  such  a  conception  of 
God,  the  more  we  are  expanding  in  consciousness. 
We  are  elevated  or  debased  according  to  our  con- 
ception of  God.  Hence  the  sin  of  having  a  low 
conception  of  God.  This  is  idolatry. 

David  said  of  such  heathen  gods :  "  They  that 
make  them  are  like  unto  them."  That  is  to  say, 
men  are  according  to  their  idea  of  God ;  and  their 
Gods  are  like  themselves.  Therefore  a  loving 
man  has  a  God  of  Love.  So  the  "  beloved  dis- 
ciple" John  said:  "  God  is  Love;  he  that  dwelleth 
in  Love  dwelleth  in  God  and  God  in  him."  A 
revengeful  man  has  a  "  God  of  vengeance,"  and 
an  intolerant  man  has  an  intolerant  God.  And  so 
John  Calvin,  revengeful  and  intolerant,  ordered  his 

43 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

theological  opponent,  Servetus,  burned  at  the  stake. 
We  need  have  no  surprise  that  John  Calvin  gave 
the  world  a  corresponding  theology.  And  thus 
the  doctrine  of  eternal  torments  originated  in  the 
wicked  heart  of  men  —  never  in  the  heart  of  In- 
finite Love,  whose  "  sun  shines  upon  the  evil  and 
the  good,  and  who  sendeth  his  rain  on  the  just 
and  the  unjust  "  alike.  John's  conception  is  higher 
than  Calvin's.  The  highest  is  none  too  good  for 
us;  since  the  highest  conception  carries  us  the 
highest,  and  contains  the  highest  worship.  "  God 
is  Good,  and  his  Mercy  endureth  forever." 

We  must  not  limit  the  Infinite  in  any  way,  not 
even  to  one  sex.  He  is  both  masculine  and  femi- 
nine, that  Man  may  be  his  perfect  expression. 
When  we  read,  "  In  the  beginning  Elohim  created 
the  heaven  and  the  earth,"  we  find  a  name  for  God 
which  is  both  masculine  and  feminine.  For  the 
singular  form,  Eloh,  is  feminine,  and  the  plural, 
Elokim,  is  masculine.  Besides,  the  plural  form 
is  used  significantly  with  a  singular  verb.  And 
resultant  from  that  biological  duality  there  is  the 
Son,  completing  the  Trinity  —  FATHER,  MOTHER, 
and  SON. 

All  creating  on  every  plane  is  accomplished  by 
44 


THE   "FIRST  DAY" 

the  union  of  these  biological  principles ;  which  in 
the  Divine  nature  are  called  the  Will  and  the 
Understanding,  or  their  equivalents,  Love  and 
Wisdom. 

From  the  Divine  Being  in  the  heaven  of  heavens 
all  the  way  down  through  every  manifestation  of 
life  to  the  microscopic  cell,  the  biological  principle 
obtains  as  the  key  to  the  continuity  of  life.  It  is 
God  everywhere  working. 

Material  philosophers  have  been  working  from 
a  wrong  basis  to  find  God.  Starting  with  the  false 
assumption  that  matter  is  real,  they  fail  to  find 
God,  the  essence  of  all  Reality.  Hence  they  con- 
clude that  He  is  the  "  Unknowable."  And  every 
one  who  is  tinctured  with  the  material  idea  has  a 
personal,  semi-material,  anthropomorphic  God. 

Their  premises  being  material,  their  conclusions 
must  be  materialistic  to  some  degree.  The  induc- 
tive reasoner,  starting  with  matter  postulated  as 
real,  will  never  be  able  to  find  God,  who  is  SPIRIT. 

But  if  we  reverse  this  order  of  reasoning,  adopt- 
ing the  deductive  method,  we  shall  be  able  to 
account  for  all  things  visible  and  invisible  in  the 
universe.  First  we  must  ascend  into  the  lofty 
mount  of  Spiritual  thought ;  where  like  Moses  we 

45 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

"  meet  God  face  to  face,"  as  it  were,  in  contem- 
plating and  communing  with  our  IDEAL.  This 
Spiritual  Ideal,  which  the  Spirit  reveals  only  "  in 
the  mount,"  is  GOD,  who  cannot  be  found  "  by 
searching,"  but  only  by  the  Spirit's  revealing. 
Then,  starting  with  our  IDEAL,  the  command  is : 
"  See  thou  fashion  all  things  after  the  pattern 
shown  in  the  mount."  For  the  "  pattern  "  of  our 
Spiritual  Temple  must  be  "  shown  in  the  mount "  — 
"  In  the  mount  of  God  it  shall  be  seen."  It  must 
be  revealed  from  above,  before  we  can  begin  our 
system  of  deductive  reasoning.  Then  will  all 
things  have  a  Divine  significance  and  value,  which 
will  be  Spiritual  to  our  consciousness.  Then  we 
shall  know  ourselves  to  be  Spiritual  beings,  living 
in  a  Spiritual  world,  under  a  Spiritual  God,  who 
evolved  all  things  out  of  his  Spiritual  Substance, 
because  all  things  have  a  Spiritual  basis  and 
reality. 

If  hitherto  our  ideals  have  been  too  low  to 
afford  us  complete  satisfaction,  we  must  form 
higher  ideals,  dwelling  long  in  their  contemplation, 
until  "  Beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  Glory  of  the 
Lord,  we  are  transformed  into  the  same  image 
from  Glory  to  Glory." 

46 


II 


THE  "  SECOND   DAY  "  :  —  DENIAL 
—  DISCRIMINATION 

1 '  And  God  said,  '  Let  there  be  a  Firmament  in  the  midst 
of  the  Waters,  and  let  it  divide  the  Waters  from  the  Waters.' " 
—  Gen.  r:6. 

THE  "  Second  Day "  of  this  symbology  is  the 
Second  Step  in  Regeneration  or  Spiritual  Evolu- 
tion. It  is  said  that  every  great  unfoldment  has 
its  "  six  periods,"  and  that  the  "  seventh  "  is  the 
perfected  attainment.  Then  what  is  true  of  the 
Cosmical  evolution  must  be  true  of  Spiritual  evo- 
lution. It  is  the  same  law  operating  on  two 
planes.  The  process  is  Cosmical  in  both  cases, 
dealing  with  matter  in  the  one  case  and  mind  in 
the  other.  The  Allegory  always  has  a  double 
meaning,  because  it  deals  with  Law  operating  on 
two  planes,  showing  the  correspondential  relation 
of  the  two.  The  one  can  no  more  be  denied  than 
the  other.  Both  are  equally  true,  according  to 
Swedenborg's  great  Law  of  Correspondences. 

47 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

If  this  great  Allegory  refers  primarily  to  the 
order  of  the  evolution  of  the  Kosmos,  and  second- 
arily to  the  evolution  of  the  Spiritual  Conscious- 
ness," then  its  "  six  days  "  must  in  either  case  be 
"  periods  "  rather  than  "  days."  For  we  read : 
"  One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day."  Then,  accord- 
ing to  the  symbology  of  numbers  (1,000  being  a 
cube  of  10,  and  "  10"  denoting  in  symbolic  lan- 
guage, fullness  or  All),  the  number  1,000  must 
stand  for  an  unmeasured,  indefinite  period,  suffi- 
cient to  accomplish  its  end,  as  the  formula  10  X 
10  X  10  would  indicate. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind,  that  while  Time  is  a 
necessary  factor  in  things  of  the  natural  world,  it 
does  not  obtain  on  the  Spiritual  plane. 

So  while  "  10"  and  its  multiples  symbolizes  an 
unmeasured  period,  sufficient  for  the  natural  evo- 
lution,—  on  the  Spiritual  plane,  where  Time  does 
not  obtain,  it  stands  for  a  full  and  completed  ex- 
perience, sufficient  for  the  Spiritual  unfoldment, 
without  regard  to  time. 

Unfoldment  is  the  order  of  Life ;  progression  is 
the  Law  of  the  universe.  Everything  is  tending 


48 


THE    "SECOND   CAY" 

toward  perfection.     All  Creation  is  moving  toward 
its  Divine  source. 

In  this  allegory  it  will  be  noted  that  it  is  always 
"the  evening  and  the  morning "  that  constitute 
the  "  day,"  never  the  converse ;  because  that  would 
be  advancing  downward.  There  is  always  an 
"  evening  "  of  darkness  to  be  dispelled  by  the  ad- 
vancing Light  of  "  the  morning,"  at  every  step  of 
our  progress, — the  darkness  of  ignorance  over- 
come by  the  Light  of  Truth.  Every  new  day 
attained  has  its  comparative  darkness,  the  over- 
coming of  which  brings  a  greater  light  to  the 
mind.  And  thus  we  are  progressing  toward  our 
final  "  Seventh  day  "  of  Spiritual  Illumination. 

We  will  not  lose  sight  of  our  definition  of  God ; 
since  all  Spiritual  reasonings  depend  on  our  con- 
ception of  God.  Yet  The  INFINITE  cannot  be 
limited  or  circumscribed  by  definition ;  because  it 
is  the  function  of  definition  to  define  or  make 
definite. 

If  The  Infinite  could  be  defined,  there  would  then 
be  no  Infinite.  Definition  makes  definite  or  finite. 
All  that  definition  accomplishes  is  the  formulation 
of  our  conception  of  The  Infinite;  and  every 
human  conception  is  necessarily  finite. 

49 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

Definition  of  God  —  our  Conception : 

(Being,      (Life,        (Principle, 
GOD  is  <    Mind,    /  Truth,  )  Substance, 

I  Spirit,  (  Love,(  Will  — ,  — 
Omniscient,  Omnipotent,  Omnipresent;  a  Trinity 
of  Trinities  in  Unity ;  the  All-embracing,  Infinite 
ONE ;  the  Being  of  all  beings,  the  Life  of  all  lives, 
the  Substance  of  all  substances ;  the  Universal, 
Unchangeable  GOOD ;  —  the  All-Father-Mother- 
Son.  For  Man  is  a  Son  of  God,  with  all  that 
this  implies. 

Being,  then,  Sons  of  God  in  our  Real  Being,  we 
must  be  of  the  same  Spiritual  Substance  and  have 
the  same  attributes  as  our  Divine  Father.  "  Like 
Father,  like  Son,"  is  a  universal  truism,  —  true  on 
the  animal  plane — on  all  planes — because  true 
on  the  Spiritual. 

Of  Jesus  Christ  Paul  said:  "  In  him  dwelleth  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily;"  —  that  is,  in 
bodily  expression.  What  is  true  of  the  repre- 
sentative man  is  potentially  true  of  every  man;  — 
only  every  man  has  not  yet  unfolded  his  poten- 
tialities. 

To  unfold  the  potentialities  of  the  Christ  in  Con- 
sciousness, and  consequently  in  bodily  expression, 

So 


THE    "SECOND   DAY" 

is  the  great  object  and  end  of  Regeneration.  As 
we  have  said,  Whatever  God,  the  Father,  is,  that 
Man,  the  Son,  must  be  potentially ;  and  those  qual- 
ities and  attributes  he  is  to  unfold  and  bring  into 
bodily  expression.  Great  as  this  task  may  seem, 
and  really  is,  it  is  the  high  privilege  of  man  to  un- 
fold all  the  potentialities  of  the  Godhead. 

Therefore,  since  God  is  Life,  Man  must  mani- 
fest life ;  and  this  he  does  to  the  degree  of  his 
understanding  of  Life.  Seeing  it  uncertain  and 
perishable,  his  experiences  are  uncertain,  and  he 
perishes  accordingly;  seeing  it  harmonious,  Om- 
nipotent, God-Principled,  his  experiences  will  be 
harmonious,  life  will  be  a  joy,  and  he  will  be  in  the 
way  of  demonstrating  his  highest  potentialities. 

Since  God  is  Truth,  his  offspring  should  mani- 
fest Truth  in  true  conditions ;  and  this  he  does  to 
the  degree  of  his  understanding  of  what  Truth  is. 
Since  God  is  Power,  his  offspring  should  manifest 
power,  and  does  to  the  degree  of  his  understand- 
ing of  what  power  is,  its  source  and  nature.  The 
secret  of  being  able  to  realize  Life,  Truth,  and 
Power  consists  in  knowing  God  and  man's  relation 
to  him. 

If  man  fully  knew  that  he  is  a  Son  of  God,  and 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

what  this  means,  he  would  awake  and  arise  in  his 
might,  a  victor  over  "  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil."  Immediately  on  that  realization  he  would 
begin  to  manifest  his  Divine  powers,  and  enter 
upon  a  great  Spiritual  evolution. 

We  are  taking  our  Second  Step  out  of  the  dark- 
ness of  the  animal-human  consciousness  with  its 
inherent  race  beliefs,  in  search  of  the  Light  of 
Truth,  —  truth,  which,  because  of  its  unchanging 
right-ness,  will  heal  us  of  the  wounds  which  error 
has  inflicted.  And  in  this  Second  Degree  of  our 
"  initiation "  we  must  freely  use  the  eraser  of 
Denial.  For  if  there  have  been  errors  in  our  past 
lifework,  it  is  quite  necessary  now  that  we  erase 
them,  that  we  may  be  able  to  build  our  Spiritual 
Temple  free  from  the  rubbish  of  the  old  thought. 
Rejection  of  error,  and  denial  of  its  reality  and 
power,  is  essential  to  its  elimination.  To  this  end 
we  must  establish  a  "  Firmament  in  the  midst  of 
the  Waters,  to  divide  the  Waters  from  the  Waters." 

The  separation  of  "  Waters  from  waters  "  in  the 
metaphysical  sense  is  discrimination  between 
classes  of  thoughts  —  the  true  from  the  false,  etc. 
For  in  this  symbology  the  "  Great  Deep  "  is  the 


THE    "SECOND   DAY" 

whole  human  mind ;  and  the  "  Waters "  are  the 
free  flowing  thoughts. 

In  all  Scripture  interpretation  all  "  waters "  re- 
fer to  things  of  the  mind,  either  Spiritual  or  natu- 
ral, according  to  whether  the  waters  mentioned 
are  of  Israel  or  outside  of  Israel. 

In  order  to  make  any  attainment  in  any  depart- 
ment in  life  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  high  purpose 
and  a  firm  resolve.  Then  in  discriminating  between 
"  waters  and  waters  "  we  must  use  great  firmness 
and  wisdom.  We  are  to  reject  from  the  mind  all 
that  cannot  be  measured  by  the  perfect  plumb-line 
of  Truth,  all  that  does  not  accord  with  our  State- 
ment of  Being.  We  must  in  the  true  Christian 
life  learn  to  "  walk  by  the  plumb."  "  I  will  set  a 
plumb-line  in  the  midst  of  my  people,  Israel."  — 
Amos  7  :  8.  If  we  are  to  make  Spiritual  progress, 
we  must,  when  once  we  have  discovered  an  error, 
cut  it  off  at  all  hazards ;  otherwise  the  error  re- 
tained will  trail  our  Spirituality  in  the  dust,  and 
defeat  us.  By  vigorous  denial  and  repudiation  we 
erase  our  errors.  Then  we  may  proceed  with  the 
solution  of  our  problem.  The  mind  must  be 
emptied  of  its  errors  and  falsities  before  it  can  be 
receptive  to  Truth.  Only  falsities  can  be  destroyed, 

53 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

however:  Realities  are  eternal  and  indestructible. 
Falsities  are  worse  than  useless :  we  must  be  rid 
of  them.  But  to  us  things  are  real  or  unreal 
according  to  our  consciousness  of  them. 

By  means  of  the  imaging  faculty  of  the  mind 
falsities  may  be  pictured  as  realities  through  our 
belief  in  them  as  such ;  and  we  suffer  accordingly. 
Therefore  what  our  higher  intelligence  finds  to  be 
unreal  it  is  a  matter  of  sound  wisdom  to  cast  out 
and  erase  from  the  tablets  of  consciousness. 

Again,  the  mind  is  the  "  Garden  of  Eden ;  "  and 
the  task  given  to  every  man  is  "to  dress  and  keep 
it."  Our  past  experiences  in  the  old  conscious- 
ness (the  animal-human)  have  filled  it  full  of  the 
weeds  of  error  and  falsity ;  which  must  be  rooted 
up  before  we  can  plant  the  fruitful  seed  of  Truth. 
For  "  every  plant  which  my  Father  hath  not 
planted  shall  be  rooted  up,"  said  the  great  meta- 
physical teacher. 

In  our  effort  to  evolve  from  the  animal-human 
to  the  Divine-human  in  consciousness,  we  shall 
find  many  erroneous  beliefs  which  are  common 
to  that  race  consciousness,  and  which  must,  as  far 
as  possible,  be  eliminated  from  conscious  thought ; 
because  in  the  higher  consciousness,  to  which  we 

54 


THE    "SECOND   DAY" 

are  aspiring,  only  Truth  will  be  of  use  to  us.  In 
our  mind-garden  we  have  full  power  and  dominion, 
and  may  mold  and  shape  conditions  to  suit  our- 
selves. We  need  simply  to  draw  on  the  Infinite 
Intelligence  within  in  all  Spiritual  work. 

There  is  no  Spiritual  progress  without  the  Light 
from  above.  And  so  "  The  Spirit  of  God  moves 
upon  the  face  of  the  waters  "  of  mind,  as  the  sine 
qua  non  of  this  evolution. 

Two  Great  Fundamental  Errors  are  the  source 
of  all  error  and  sin. 

The  First  Great  Error  we  have  to  cope  with  is, 
That  there  is  another  Reality  and  Power  besides 
the  GOOD,  called  EVIL. 

If,  as  we  have  declared,  God  is  Good,  and  Good 
is  All,  then  certainly  there  can  be  nothing  but 
Good  in  the  universe  —  in  the  sense  of  Reality. 
We  do  not  deny,  that  in  the  human  consciousness 
there  are  manifestations  of  evil  on  every  hand. 
But  those  manifestations  are  due  to  the  human  be- 
lief in  them  as  reality.  Once  get  rid  of  the  idea 
that  it  has  reality,  and  it  is  immediately  relegated 
to  the  misty  realm  of  falsity ;  —  and  what  is  falsity 
but  a  shadowy  no-thing?  This  is  the  vaporous 
stuff  that  Lies  are  made  of —  No-thing  claiming 

55 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

to  be  Some-thing.  Evil,  then,  is  "  A  liar  and  the 
father  of  lies,"  as  He  said  who  solved  this  prob- 
lem truly. 

A  Lie  never  had  reality;  its  nothingness  is 
clearly  seen  the  moment  Truth  is  spoken.  It  be- 
comes invisible,  and  vanishes  like  a  bubble,  when 
once  its  emptiness  is  shown.  There  would  be  no 
Spiritual  darkness,  if  Evil  were  eliminated  from  con- 
sciousness. The  darkness  of  Egypt  —  "  darkness 
that  may  be  felt "  —  comes  from  the  consciousness 
of  Evil.  "  The  Children  of  Israel  have  Light  in 
their  dwellings ;  "  because  they  are  in  the  Spirit- 
ual Consciousness,  where  there  is  no  evil.  If,  as 
we  have  said,  God  is  the  soul  and  substance  of  all 
Reality,  he  cannot  be  the  soul  and  substance  of  a 
Lie,  which  has  no  soul  or  substance.  To  concede 
Substance  and  Reality  to  Evil,  gives  it  standing 
and  power  —  making  it  a  God,  with  power  over 
us  commensurate  with  our  concession.  We  can- 
not afford  to  have  two  Gods,  one  Good  with  power 
to  bless,  and  the  other  Evil  with  power  to  curse 
us.  As  sure  as  we  have  we  shall  be  in  danger  of 
getting  our  gods  confused  (since  both  are  in 
mind)  ;  accusing  our  Good  God  of  sending  forth 
his  wrath  to  curse  his  children. 

5* 


THE    "SECOND    DAY" 

We  must  be  consistent  concerning  our  idea  of 
God.  God  is  GOOD ;  and  GOOD  only  is  Reality 
Omnipresent  and  Omnipotent.  There  is  no  place 
or  power  for  evil,  except  by  our  concession  and 
recognition. 

Evil  is  an  illusion  of  the  mortal  consciousness,  a 
sort  of  phantasm  of  this  undeveloped  earthly  life. 
But  there  is  a  sense  in  which  evil  may  be  called 
undeveloped  Good.  For  if  bitter  consequences 
follow  our  mistake,  the  consequence  —  the  legiti- 
mate fruit  of  the  error  —  comes  to  show  us  the 
mistake,  that  we  may  learn  its  lesson,  and  thereby 
be  led  in  Wisdom's  way.  So  if  we  learn  the 
lesson  of  every  experience,  each  experience  will 
have  served  a  good  purpose,  and  will  have  been 
Good,  and  not  Evil. 

By  using  all  experiences  wisely,  while  unfolding 
the  higher  Consciousness,  and  by  discriminating 
between  Truth  and  Falsity,  Reality  and  Unreality, 
all  the  phantasmagoria  of  mortal  sense  will  disap- 
pear, in  the  ushering  in  of  a  New  Day,  where  these 
illusions  do  not  obtain.  Oh,  that  men  might  awake 
and  arise  to  the  realization  that  God  reigns  —  even 
Now,  —  that  "  The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  full- 
ness thereof" ! 

57 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

When  you  have  carried  the  denial  and  renunci- 
ation of  evil  so  far  that  you  lose  the  consciousness 
of  it,  you  will  not  see  it  in  your  brother  ;  you  will 
have  no  fear  of  it ;  you  will  not  see  sin,  nor  desire 
to  sin ;  you  will  be  consciously  Holy.  The  only 
hindrance  to  conscious  holiness  now  is  the  belief 
in  evil.  When  you  are  in  what  we  may  call  the 
Good-Consciousness,  only  Good  will  come  into 
your  life,  since  only  Good  is  in  Consciousness. 

The  Second  Great  Error  of  the  race  is,  That 
there  are  Two  opposing  Substances.  SPIRIT  and 
MATTER. 

In  our  definition  of  God  we  have  used  the  word 
"  Substance,"  affirming  that  Spirit  is  the  only 
Substance,  and  that  Matter  in  its  last  analysis  is 
Spirit;  so  that  fundamentally  Spirit  is  all,  or  God 
is  All. 

The  Reality  of  Matter  does  not  consist  in  its 
phenomenal  aspect  but  in  the  underlying  Spiritual 
substratum  or  Substantial  Essence,  on  which  the 
phenomenal  depends  for  its  "  appearance."  The 
Visible  is  the  projection  outwardly  of  the  Divine 
Invisible,  which  only  is  Real.  When  we  say  that 
matter  is  unreal  or  "  there  is  no  matter,"  we  always 
have  reference  to  the  phenomenal  aspect  of  matter, 

58 


THE    "SECOND   DAY" 

and  not  to  its  Invisible  Substratum.  For  the  In- 
visible is  the  Real. 

We  shall  now  be  understood,  when  we  say, 
"  There  is  no  matter :  All  is  Spirit." 

The  intelligent  use  of  these  denials  will  aid  us 
in  the  comprehension  of  our  own  True  Being;  en- 
abling us  to  see  ourselves  as  Spiritual,  instead  of 
material ;  that  we  are  even  now  Spiritual  Beings 
living  Spiritual  lives  in  a  Spiritual  world;  that 
Holiness  is  everywhere,  because  God  is  every- 
where, and  because  everything  seen  is  the  expres- 
sion of  God.  "  There  is  None  beside  Me." 

It  is  the  human,  even  the  animal-human  con- 
sciousness —  the  Divine-Human  not  being  yet 
unfolded,  —  that  sees  all  things  crudely  material 
and  imperfect,  —  man  a  fallen  creature,  sinful  and 
depraved,  —  God  in  human  form,  with  human 
faults,  loving  and  hating  alternately  like  itself.  In 
this  crude,  primitive  state  our  world  is  "  without 
form  and  void,  with  darkness  upon  the  face  of  the 
deep/' 

But  out  of  this  material  consciousness  we  are  to 
advance  by  the  "  Spirit  of  God  moving  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters  "  of  thought,  from  which  plant- 
ing of  the  Divine  Seed-germ  of  Spiritual  Life  from 

59 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

the  "  Brooding  Spirit,"  we  shall  awake  and  arise, 
unfolding  the  Spiritual  Consciousness  day  by  day, 
until  we  shall  ultimately  attain  to  the  Spiritual 
Consciousness,  —  the  estate  of  the  Divine-Human, 
which  is  the  end  of  Regeneration. 

In  order  the  better  to  unfold  the  Spiritual 
Consciousness  we  must  get  rid  of  the  Material 
Consciousness ;  and  this  can  be  done  only  by  the 
denial  of  that  which  is  the  basis  of  it.  If  there  is 
a  Spiritual  aspect  of  matter  and  of  our  bodies,  we 
must  dwell  on  this  Spiritual  aspect  of  things,  in 
order  to  cultivate  the  Spiritual.  For  as  long  as 
we  make  emphatic  the  material  idea  we  are  hold- 
ing ourselves  to  the  material  and  the  material 
consciousness. 

Materiality  and  Evil  regarded  as  real  are  two 
anchors  by  which  we  are  bound  to  earth  and  earth 
conditions.  By  cutting  these  old  cables  we  may 
gain  release  from  material  conditions,  and  find  rest 
in  the  high  altitudes  of  Spiritual  understanding. 
When  the  basic  errors,  hindrances  to  conscious 
Spirituality  and  holiness,  are  removed,  then  will 
the  "  most  great  peace "  ensue,  wherein  "  every 
man  shall  sit  under  his  own  vine  and  fig-tree  with 
none  to  molest  or  make  afraid." 

60 


THE    "SECOND    DAY" 

Our  old  Jerusalem  (possession  in  peace)  must 
be  so  fully  destroyed  that  "  there  shall  not  be  left 
one  stone  upon  another  that  shall  not  be  thrown 
down,"  before  we  can  come  into  our  New  Jerusa- 
lem—  the  Spiritual  Consciousness. 

The  old  Jerusalem  was  crude,  primitive,  materi- 
alistic. It  was  our  then  "  possession  in  peace," 
our  secure  abode.  It  was  all  right  in  its  day.  We 
had  to  come  that  way.  But  that  does  not  signify 
that  we  are  to  always  stay  there  and  become  crys- 
tallized in  material  thought,  ossified  and  fossilized 
thereby.  If  the  soul  does  not  grow  it  must  crys- 
tallize, so  that  the  higher  faculties  cease  to  unfold. 
Alas,  what  a  vast  army  of  the  sons  of  earth  pre- 
fer to  hug  to  their  bosom  the  material  idea,  shut- 
ting themselves  up  in  their  cocoons  of  material 
thought  until  they  return  to  dust  again  !  Such  a 
soul,  leaving  its  "  clay  tenement,"  still  retains  its 
material  consciousness.  Death  does  not  change 
the  consciousness.  What  experiences  it  will  pass 
through,  what  possible  re-births,  what  effort  it  will 
make  or  not  make,  who  can  tell?  How  long  it 
will  take  it  in  its  new  situation  (or  whether  it  will 
desire  to  change)  to  evolve  the  Spiritual  Con- 
sciousness, who  can  tell?  Happy  is  he  who, 

61 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

while  in  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  shall 
"  choose  that  better  part "  and  apply  himself  to 
the  unfoldment  of  his  Spiritual  nature  and  become 
worthy  of  eternal  joys  ! 

If  we  would  advance  in  unfoldment  we  have 
got  work  to  do.  It  appeals  to  our  own  better 
judgment  as  a  matter  of  Wisdom,  that  we  leave 
old,  unsatisfying  conditions,  and  strive  for  things 
higher — "leaving  the  things  that  are  behind  (the 
material  idea),  we  press  forward  to  the  mark  for 
the  prize  of  our  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus,"  —  unto  the  full  attainment  of  our  Divinity, 
in  Consciousness. 

From  Divinity  we  came  forth  ;  Divinity  was  first 
///-folded ;  so  that  it  becomes  our  problem  to  tm~ 
fold  in  consciousness  the  within  potentiality  of 
Divinity.  Why  should  we  hesitate  a  single  mo- 
ment to  enter  the  path  that  leads  to  Life  —  the 
conscious  attainment  of  a  Divine  estate? 

In  this  Second  Degree  of  our  unfoldment  of  this 
Divine  Estate  we  have  established  a  "Firmament" 
of  discriminating  Reason  to  separate  "waters  from 
waters" — thoughts  from  thoughts.  And  in  this 
firmamental  separation  we  place  among  the 
"  waters  under  the  firmament "  the  crude  mate- 

62 


THE    " SECOND   DAY " 

rialistic  ideas  and  all  thoughts  of  sin,  bondage,  and 
limitation ;  and  among  the  "  waters  above  the 
firmament "  the  pure,  elevating,  Spiritual  thoughts 
and  beautiful  ideals,  which  carry  us  away  from  the 
gloomy  records  of  past  distresses  and  material 
limitations  into  the  very  atmosphere  of  heaven. 

Discriminating  Reason,  enlightened  by  the 
"  Spirit  of  God  moving  upon  the  face  of  the 
Waters  "  of  the  mind,  has  enabled  us  to  renounce 
and  separate  from  the  mind  the  Two  great  Funda- 
mental Errors,  which,  if  retained,  will  weigh  us 
down  so  seriously  as  to  ultimately  cheat  us  out 
of  the  Spiritual  Consciousness  —  the  "Kingdom 
of  Heaven." 

The  First  Great  Error  is  Evil's  Reality; 

The  Second  Great  Error  is  Matter's  Reality. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  Animal-Human 
these  seem  very  real ;  but  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  Divine-Human  they  are  unreal. 

These  errors,  which  have  been  in  our  heavens, 
we  now  cast  to  the  earth.  "  I  beheld  Satan  at 
lightning  fall  from  heaven." 

With  this  "satan,"  "the  accuser  of  my  brethren, 
cast  down,"  there  will  be  no  hindrance  to  our 
rapid  advancement  in  Spiritual  unfoldment. 

63 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

These  two  fundamental  beliefs  of  a  primitive 
consciousness  will  in  our  final  triumph  over  the 
carnal  nature  be  found  to  be  the  "  Two  Thieves" 
which  must  be  crucified  with  that  old  conscious- 
ness. For  these  "  thieves  "  or  "  robbers  "  of  the 
mind  would,  if  allowed  to  remain,  steal  away  our 
Spiritual  realization,  and  thus  defeat  us  in  our 
effort  to  reach  the  Resurrection-Consciousness. 

Only  by  the  renunciation  of  the  material  idea 
can  we  realize  that  this  is  a  Spiritual  world  instead 
of  a  material  one ;  that  all  things  are  now  Spir- 
itual, and  always  have  been.  Only  by  the  renun- 
ciation of  the  "  Good-and-Evil"  idea  can  we  realize 
that  this  is  God's  World,  and  not  the  Devil's ;  that 
all  things  are  even  now  "  Very  GOOD,"  as  at  first 
pronounced.  When  this  change  of  Consciousness 
is  attained,  Health  will  be  natural,  Holiness  will 
be  natural,  Spirituality  will  be  natural,  the  God- 
Consciousness  will  be  natural. 

This  radical  denial  of  things  of  the  old  con- 
sciousness, which  are  so  real  to  it,  this  severe 
iconoclasm,  may  at  first  bring  a  sense  of  distress 
almost.  But  our  old  Jerusalem  cannot  be  de- 
stroyed without  a  struggle ;  still  for  our  Christ- 
unfoldment  it  has  to  go. 

64 


THE    " SECOND   DAY " 

Every  old  dispensation  (consciousness),  having 
served  its  day,  must  be  overthrown,  before  the 
ushering  in  of  a  New  Dispensation  (or  Conscious- 
ness), which  involves  struggle.  There  must  be 
great  tribulations  "  before  that  great  and  terrible 
day  of  the  Lord  come."  For  our  old  racial  be- 
liefs are  exceedingly  tenacious ;  they  are  a  part 
of  us ;  built  into  us,  as  a  part  of  our  conscious- 
ness, and  can  no  more  be  eliminated  without  a 
struggle,  than  a  limb  can  be  hewn  from  the  body 
without  pain.  Then  we  will  not  be  disturbed  by 
the  radical  work  of  this  Degree,  preparatory  to  the 
revealing  of  the  Heavenly  Man. 

To  the  conscious  mind  freed  from  its  life-long 
and  race-long  errors  there  will  come  a  wonderful 
revealing  of  Spiritual  Realities,  our  awakened 
finer  perceptions  shall  behold  a  New  World  of 
transcendent  beauty.  The  old  heavens  shall  pass 
away  and  a  transformed  world  of  heavenly  mold 
will  appear  to  our  transformed  thought.  Regen- 
eration is  the  only  reform.  The  very  foundations 
of  the  old  life  must  be  torn  up ;  the  old  conscious- 
ness must  be  supplanted  by  a  higher  conscious- 
ness. For  as  long  as  the  old  remains,  the  crim- 
inal will  be  criminal  still.  Prisons  will  never 

65 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

reform  him.  But  only  let  the  grovelling  sensualist 
come  into  this  higher  consciousness,  —  that  he  is 
a  Spiritual  Being  with  Spiritual  faculties  and 
powers,  and  he  will  hasten  to  renounce  his  false 
pleasures  and  turn  from  them  with  loathing;  his 
false  appetites  will  disappear,  and  the  animal  will 
no  longer  be  in  dominion. 

In  like  manner  pain  will  disappear  as  soon  as 
you  give  up  the  idea  of  Evil  and  Matter  as  real. 
This  may  be  readily  verified  in  simple  acute  pain 
like  toothache. 

In  my  travels  in  the  West  I  casually  met  in  a 
store  a  stranger  groaning  with  a  severe  tooth- 
ache, and  the  following  dialogue  ensued : 

Q.     What's  the  matter  with  you? 

A.     I've  got  the  worst  toothache  I  ever  had. 

Q.     Do  you  enjoy  it? 

A.     I  should  say  not;   I've  had  it  two  days. 

Said  I :  You  must  like  it  pretty  well  to  keep  it 
two  days ;  fifteen  minutes  is  long  enough  for  me 
to  keep  a  toothache. 

Said  he :  What  do  you  put  into  a  tooth  to  stop 
toothache  so  quick? 

A.     I  put  nothing  into  it. 

Q.     What  do  you  do  for  it? 
66 


THE   "SECOND  DAY" 

A.     I  order  it  oft  the  premises. 

Said  he :  You  couldn't  order  it  off  my  premises. 

Said  I :  No,  you  like  it  too  well ;  you  are  fast 
friends,  you  hold  right  to  it  and  are  not  going  to 
let  it  go ;  you  believe  in  it  as  Reality,  have  kept 
it  two  days,  and  are  still  holding  to  it. 

Said  he :  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  I  can  get 
rid  of  toothache  at  will? 

A.     Certainly,  when  you  know  how. 

Q.     Tell  me  how. 

A.  That's  different ;  I've  studied  this  for 
years  and  have  scarcely  learned  how;  I  can't 
tell  you  in  a  minute;  my  train  goes  in  twenty 
minutes. 

Said  he  :  You  interest  me.  If  there  is  a  way 
to  be  rid  of  toothache  at  will  I'd  like  you  to  give 
me  a  pointer. 

I  determined  then  to  stop  his  toothache,  and 
said :  I  will,  if  you  will  answer  three  questions 
correctly.  To  this  he  consented. 

Q.  Is  the  physical  body  before  me  the  Real 
Man? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  understand  your  Real  Self  to  be 
a  Spiritual  Being? 

67 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  for  one  moment  that  this 
Spiritual  Being,  your  True  Self,  the  Son  of  God, 
ever  had  or  could  have  a  toothache  ? 

A.     No,  sir  (very  firmly). 

Said  I  very  deliberately  and  firmly :  Then  you 
have  no  toothache  and  you  know  it. 

I  saw  by  his  glance  (which  I  held  for  ten  sec- 
onds) that  he  fully  saw  my  meaning,  and  that  he 
got  a  view  of  the  Spiritual  Self;  and  in  that  con- 
ception the  material  idea  was  eliminated. 

Well,  said  he,  I  haven't  any;  it  is  gone,  and 
all  soreness  is  gone,  too. 

Said  I :  Your  one  glimpse  of  the  Spiritual  Man 
has  healed  you,  and  this  is  the  natural  remedy  for 
all  human  ills. 

It  was  not  my  thought  which  healed  him; 
it  was  his  own.  He  had  practically  denied 
matter  and  affirmed  Spirit,  as  I  "  showed  him 
how,"  which  was  all  I  promised  to  do,  and  all 
I  did. 

This  little  incident  shows  the  basis  of  all  Spir- 
itual healing  to  be  the  abandonment  of  these  two 
racial  errors,  and  the  realization  of  the  Spiritual 
and  the  Good  universal  as  the  only  Real. 

68 


THE    "SECOND   DAY" 

But  a  day  is  to  dawn  upon  the  world,  as  it  may 
to  any  individual,  when  all  these  illusions  shall 
cease,  when  "  Satan  shall  be  bound  a  thousand 
years,  and  shall  deceive  the  Nations  no  more." 
This  last  clause  shows  that  the  "  nations "  are 
under  an  illusion  —  are  "  deceived." 

In  the  Spiritual  interpretation  the  "nations" 
are  within ;  the  whole  world  is  within ;  the  illu- 
sion is  within,  and  the  binding  of  the  illusionist 
is  to  be  accomplished  within.  By  whom?  By 
yourself,  the  only  demonstrator  of  Divine  princi- 
ples. The  individual  is  always  the  actor  clothed 
with  omnipotent  powers,  when  he  knows  who 
he  is.  You  are  King  in  your  kingdom,  the 
ruler  of  your  world,  the  destroyer  of  every 
satanic  illusion  that  has  deceived  you,  if  only 
you  will  recognize  your  power  and  assert  your 
authority. 

And  it  is  through  overcoming  that  you  shall  be 
able  to  come  into  the  realization  of  your  power 
and  dominion. 

"  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things." 

"  He  that  overcometh  shall  sit  with  Me  in  My 
throne,  even  as  I  overcame,  and  am  set  down 

with  my  Father  in  His  throne."  —  Rev.  3:21. 

69 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Hitherto  we  have  lived  in  the  consciousness  of 
Good-and-Evil,  both  believed  to  be  Real ;  and  we 
have  suffered  accordingly.  Shall  we  always  re- 
main there,  and  be  swallowed  up  in  its  vortex  of 
woe? 

There  is  a  way  of  escape,  which  we  are  endeav- 
oring to  point  out.  Only  by  overcoming  is  power 
developed ;  and  "  underneath  are  the  Everlasting 
Arms." 

The  whole  power  of  evil  comes  from  its  long 
ascribed  reality,  through  functioning  in  the  sin- 
consciousness.  But  once  destroy  this  giant  Lie 
with  the  "  five  smooth  stones "  of  Truth  (the 
five  Spiritual  senses),  and  there  will  be  nothing 
to  fear,  —  no  evil,  no  sin,  no  sickness,  no 
death.  The  Giant  Illusion,  Evil,  will  be  as 
impotent  as  the  dead  Goliath,  which  in  figure 
he  represents. 

See  yourself  a  Divinely  perfect  Spiritual  Being, 
a  very  Son  of  God,  with  Spiritual  senses  only,  — 
be  a  Son  of  God  !  —  and  you  will  wield  the  same 
Spiritual  weapons  that  David  did.  You  will  be 
David,  and  will  scatter  the  Philistian  hosts  within 
(evil  thoughts),  having  slain  their  champion  — 
Belief  in  Evil. 

70 


THE    "SECOND   DAY" 

With  the  elimination  of  Evil  and  Matter,  as 
realities,  from  conscious  thought,  the  long,  dark 
night  full  of  terrors  will  have  passed,  and  a  brighter 
Day  will  dawn. 

"  The  Evening  and  the  Morning  were  the 
Second  Day." 


Ill 

THE  "  THIRD   DAY  "  :  —  AFFIRMATION  —  CONCEN- 
TRATION 

"  And  God  said,  «  Let  the  Waters  under  the  Heavens  be 
gathered  together  into  one  place,  and  let  the  dry  land  ap- 
pear."—  Gen.  I  :  9. 

AMONG  the  ancient  Brahmans  Religion  was  the 
greatest  and  most  profound  of  sciences ;  and  the 
student  of  the  "  Ancient  Mysteries,"  as  he  entered 
upon  the  task  of  mastering  them,  was  called  an 
"  Initiate."  Before  any  "  Initiate  "  could  be  passed 
to  his  "  Second  Degree,"  he  must  have  thoroughly 
mastered  the  First,  and  have  appropriated  all  its 
truths  and  principles.  There  was  no  superficial 
work,  no  skimming  over  by  mere  memorizing. 
All  had  to  be  understood,  digested,  appropriated, 
assimilated,  and  made  a  part  of  the  individual  con- 
sciousness, before  the  aspiring  Neophyte  was 
considered  worthy  of  advancement  to  his  Second 
Degree.  Only  in  this  way  can  Religion  exert  its 

72 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

proper  function,  —  that  of  transforming  the  con- 
sciousness—  unfolding  the  Divinest  in  man.  Only 
by  such  a  radical  transformation  is  there  any  Re- 
generation. This  these  ancient  Wise  Men  well 
understood.  What  was  true  of  man  then  is  always 
true  of  him. 

This  order  of  Mystics  was  called  "  The  Ancient 
Brotherhood."  They  were  very  exclusive  in  the 
nature  of  the  case ;  because  only  in  this  way  could 
the  purity  of  the  Order  be  maintained  and  the 
highest  Spiritual  evolution  in  consciousness  be  ac- 
complished. Their  modern  Oriental  adherents 
claim  that  from  this  ancient  Brotherhood  there 
exists  in  the  Spiritual  world  what  they  call  "  The 
White  Brotherhood,"  who  have  this  planet  in 
charge,  and  are  planning  for  its  regeneration 
during  this  Century. 

If  the  two  first  Steps  of  our  Initiation  into  the 
Brotherhood  of  the  Sons  of  God  have  been  well 
taken,  and  all  its  truths  appropriated,  we  are  pre- 
pared to  advance  another  step  in  the  Way  of  Re- 
generation. It  is  not  sufficient  to  accept  the 
intellectual  formula  of  Truth.  It  is  quite  a  differ- 
ent thing  to  Spiritually  apprehend  Spiritual  Truth, 
which  we  must  assimilate  and  make  our  own. 

73 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Only  by  this  thorough  appropriation  and  assimila- 
tion is  it  of  any  real  value  to  us.  But  when  thus 
appropriated  it  will  exert  a  wonderful  transforming 
power  over  us. 

The  "  natural  man  "  —  in  the  Animal-Human- 
Consciousness —  does  not  know  Truth  —  does  not 
know  Spiritual  things  at  all.  He  functions  only  in 
the  Intellectual  and  Sensuous  Realms.  His  king- 
dom is  of  this  world.  His  Spiritual  perceptions  have 
not  yet  been  awakened.  He  has  not  yet  been  "  born 
of  the  Spirit."  In  this  consciousness  at  best  we  see 
but  dimly,  as  it  were  through  materialistic  specta- 
cles. The  material  consciousness  is  so  darkened  that 
we  scarcely  see.  Paul  said  :  "  Now  we  see  through  a 
glass  darkly."  Isaiah  said  :  "  This  people's  heart 
is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing 
and  their  eyes  have  they  closed,  lest  at  any  time 
they  should  see  with  their  eyes  and  hear  with  their 
ears,  and  should  be  converted  and  I  should  heal 
them."  Here  the  Prophet  refers  to  the  Spiritual 
senses.  "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 
In  the  nature  of  the  case  it  is  not  expected  that  we 
should  open  up  fully  developed  Spiritual  senses 
all  at  once.  For  our  higher  faculties  must  first 
be  awakened  before  we  can  use  them.  As  the 

74 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

child  must  learn  to  walk,  so  our  first  steps  must  be 
taken  in  meekness  and  childlike  simplicity.  In 
fact,  we  cannot  know  the  secret  mysteries  of  Spirit- 
ual things,  only  as  fast  as,  and  to  the  degree  that 
we  unfold  our  own  Spirituality.  For  this  high 
order  of  Wisdom  comes  not  through  intellect ;  but 
"  Spiritual  things  are  Spiritually  discerned;"  and 
that  just  to  the  degree  of  our  Spiritual  unfoldment. 
The  unfathomable  depths  of  Infinite  Wisdom  un- 
fold to  us  with  our  unfoldment.  Unless  we  Spirit- 
ually apprehend  the  Spiritual  Truth,  which  the 
intellectual  formula  is  given  to  express,  we  are  not 
making  progress  in  our  evolution.  Each  step 
well  taken  will  prepare  the  way  for  the  next 
higher,  until  the  great  consummation,  the  illumi- 
nated Seventh,  is  realized. 

A  statement  of  Truth  may  not  at  first  be  ac- 
cepted by  the  intellect;  it  may  even  have  a  dis- 
turbing effect  in  the  mind.  But  never  mind,  you 
have  only  to  sow  the  seed ;  ygu  cannot  make  it 
grow.  Clean-cut  statements  of  Truth  will  some- 
how cling  to  the  mind  with  a  singular  tenacity, 
even  though  not  fully  received  by  intellect ;  till  in 
the  fulness  of  time  the  fruiting  will  appear,  — 
"first  the  blade;  then  the  ear;  after  that  the  full 

75 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

corn  in  the  ear."  Therefore,  continue  to  "  sow  be- 
side all  waters"  (all  mentalities)  ;  and  the  growth 
and  fruit  will  often  be  seen  where  least  expected. 
Have  no  fear  for  the  success  of  your  word  of 
Truth ;  don't  worry  about  it ;  the  sowing  is  your 
part.  You  have  not  got  to  stand  for  the  defence 
of  Truth.  It  is  its  own  defence ;  it  will  take  care 
of  itself;  it  only  needs  to  be  spoken ;  its  power  is 
omnipotent. 

If  only  you  have  the  spirit  of  meekness  and 
obedience,  Infinite  Wisdom  will  give  you  its  own 
"  sure  Word  of  prophecy."  You  will  not  be  a 
"barren  tree;"  since  the  Infinite  Fountain  is 
within.  Wisdom  does  not  enter  the  mind  from 
without.  As  Browning  says : 

"  Truth  is  within  ourselves ;  it  takes  no  rise 
From  outward  things,  whate'er  we  may  believe. 
There  is  an  inmost  centre  within  us  all, 
Where  Truth  abides  in  fulness ;     .     .     . 

and  to  know 

Rather  consists  in  opening  out  a  way, 
Whence  the  imprisoned  splendor  may  escape, 
Than  in  effecting  entry  for  a  light, 
Supposed  to  be  without.     Watch  narrowly 
The  demonstration  of  a  truth,  its  birth  ; 
And  you  trace  back  the  influence  to  its  spring 
76 


THE    "  THIRD    DAY  " 

And  source  within  us,  where  broods  a  radiance  vast, 
To  be  elicited  ray  by  ray,  as  chance  shall  favor." 

When  the  waters  of  thought  are  "  gathered  to- 
gether "  they  form  a  compound  of  Character,  which 
is  the  "  Dry  Land  "  that  always  "  appears."  The 
"  waters  under  our  Firmament "  are  the  thoughts 
we  make  practical  in  life ;  and  these  are  what  de- 
termine Character. 

In  the  Second  Lesson  we  were  shown  the  true 
and  righteous  discrimination  we  should  make 
among  our  thoughts.  In  this  lesson  we  are  to 
note  the  results  of  proper  and  improper  discrimi- 
nation in  its  effect  on  Character.  For  thoughts, 
when  "  gathered  together,"  become  "  Dry  Land  " 
—  fixed  or  established  character. 

We  establish  a  good  or  bad  character  accord- 
ing to  whether  we  use  our  powers  of  discrimina- 
tion wisely  or  unwisely  —  according  to  the  quality 
or  character  of  thoughts  we  "  gather  together." 
For  it  is  a  universal  law,  that  as  we  sow,  so  shall 
we  reap  ;  that  as  we  "  gather,"  so  shall  we  establish 
character.  The  "  dry  land  "  is  sure  to  "  appear." 

With  a  perverse  Will  we  may  choose  to  function 
in  sensuality  and  carnality  never  so  secretly,  and 
fancy  that,  because  we  maintain  the  outward  ap- 

77 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

pearance  of  uprightness  and  gentility,  we  are  known 
as  perfect  gentlemen.  But  be  not  deceived.  Char- 
acter cannot  be  concealed ;  because  it  is  what  we 
are.  "The  dry  land  appears,"  whether  we  realize 
it  or  not.  Character  is  the  synthetic  compound  of 
our  thoughts.  What  we  think  determines  what  we 
are.  And  though  the  waters  of  thought  appear  to 
pass  silently  beyond  the  recognition  of  others,  still 
they  become  concreted  in  our  consciousness  and 
body,  and  leave  the  "  mark  of  the  beast  in  our 
foreheads."  "  We  are  known  and  read  of  all." 
"  The  dry  land "  is  sure  to  "  appear."  "  That 
which  is  whispered  in  the  ear  in  closets  shall  be 
proclaimed  upon  the  housetop."  Character  can- 
not be  concealed. 

Discrimination  was  the  theme  of  the  last  chapter. 
Affirmation  of  Truth  will  be  the  subject  of  this, 
that  we  may  plant  the  fruitful  seed  of  Truth  in  our 
well-prepared  garden. 

Truth,  as  we  have  said,  is  omnipresent;  yet  it 
has  little  effect  on  us,  until  we  handle  it  with  the 
conscious  mind,  and  accept  and  make  it  our  own. 
It  is  always  within,  waiting  our  recognition,  that  we 
may  be  unfolded  and  uplifted  by  its  quickening 
power.  Through  our  acceptance  and  realization 

78 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

of  it,  it  will  externalize  itself  in  true  conditions  of 
concrete  bodily  expression,  affording  health  and 
happiness. 

But  the  effect  of  Truth  on  us  will  depend  on  our 
conception  of  it,  on  the  clearness  and  vividness  of 
our  realization  of  it  as  an  eternal  principle,  clothed 
with  Divine  power ;  or  whether  we  Spiritually  ap- 
prehend it  or  only  intellectually.  But  what  is  the 
distinction  between  the  two  conceptions? 

Jeremiah  said :  "  A  man's  word  is  his  only 
Burden." 

Jesus,  who  spoke  from  the  Christ  within,  said : 
"  My  Words  are  Spirit,  and  they  are  Life." 

Here  the  two  concepts,  "  man's  word,"  and 
Christ's  Word,  are  contrasted.  The  one  is  man's 
concept  of  Truth ;  the  other  is  the  Christ  Idea,  or 
Truth  itself.  Man's  word  is  opinion,  —  a  thing  of 
Intellect ;  not  the  genuine  article.  For  the  human 
concept  is,  as  we  have  said,  a  mis-conception; 
which  brings  its  long  train  of  "  burdens,"  like  any- 
thing counterfeit.  But  the  Christ  Conception, 
which  is  Truth  Absolute,  is  never  a  matter  of 
opinion  or  controversy. 

Man  speaks  his  word  from  the  human  standpoint 
(really  a  false  standpoint)  ;  Jesus  speaks  from  the 

79 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Christ  standpoint  —  Truth's  own  standpoint.  Such 
Words  are  fraught  with  Power,  since  Truth  is  God. 

The  power  of  the  Spoken  Word  is  enough  to 
raise  the  dead ;  when  spoken  with  the  realization 
of  its  Divine  Omnipotence,  —  that  Christ  is  the 
very  Word  of  that  word.  Can  there  be  "  burdens  " 
to  such  Words?  On  the  contrary,  "  My  yoke  is 
easy,  and  My  burden  is  light." 

To  bear  the  yoke  of  Christ  is  to  escape  "  bur- 
dens." To  bear  the  yoke  of  Christ  is  to  bear  no 
yoke.  He  is  called  the  great  "  Burden  bearer." 
"  My  yoke  is  easy,  and  My  burden  is  light."  In 
the  service  of  Truth  there  is  freedom  —  not  "  bur- 
dens." The  Sons  of  God  are  free. 

It  is  the  human  concept  which  brings  burdens 
—  the  false  concept  of  things. 

All  the  burdens  of  earth,  all  sorrows,  discords, 
sufferings,  and  calamities  are  the  natural  result  of 
our  own  misconceptions  of  Truth  —  our  Words. 

Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  says  of  the  importance  of 
the  right  use  of  words : 

"  Words  are  great  forces  in  the  realm  of  life ; 
Be  careful  of  their  use.     Who  talks  of  Hate, 
Of  Poverty,  of  Sickness,  but  sets  rife 
Those  very  elements  to  mar  his  fate. 
80 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

••When  Love,  Health,  Happiness  and  Plenty  hear 
Their  names  repeated  day  by  day, 
They  wing  their  way  like  answering  fairies  near ; 
Then  nestle  down  within  our  homes  to  stay. 

"Who  talks  of  Evil  conjures  into  shape 
That  formless  thing,  and  gives  it  life  and  scope. 
This  is  the  law.     Then  let  no  word  escape, 
That  does  not  breathe  of  everlasting  hope." 

We  are  searching  for  the  unalloyed  TRUTH,  — 
the  Christ- WORD,  —  something  above  opinion, 
whose  undeviating  right-ness  we  may  safely  anchor 
to,  and  feel  that  we  are  firmly  planted  on  the 
eternal  Rock,  against  which  the  turbulent  waves 
of  human  opinion  may  dash,  and  only  be  them- 
selves broken. 

We  are  tired  of  words,  tired  of  burdens,  tired  of 
opinions,  —  though  men  call  them  Truth.  We 
want  the  authority  of  Truth  itself.  Nothing  short 
of  this  will  satisfy  our  insatiable  hunger  and  lift 
the  burdens  under  which  we  groan. 

How  does  one's  thought  become  a  burden  and 
affect  his  health  ? 

Through  the  imaging  faculty  —  the  imagination 
—  the  mind  has  the  power  to  make  pictures.  This 
is  the  only  way  the  mind  has  of  making  a  thought 

Si 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

continuous,  so  as  to  produce  a  result  which  will 
always  be  according  to  the  character  of  the  pic- 
tures made. 

For  the  mind  is  a  delicately  constructed  camera 
in  which  all  our  thoughts  are  pictured,  before  they 
can  be  brought  into  expression.  First  the  picture 
on  the  sensitive  plate ;  then  the  development  or 
expression  of  it  in  outward  conditions  of  body  or 
environment. 

Said  Ezekiel,  "  Son  of  man,  hast  thou  seen  what 
the  Elders  of  Israel  do  in  the  dark,  every  one  in 
his  chambers  of  imagery?" 

The  misuse  of  this  imaging  faculty  is  what  the 
prophet  is  speaking  of.  By  this  faculty  we  make 
pictures  in  the  "  dark  chambers  "  of  the  mind  con- 
tinually; which  in  due  time  are  expressed  in  con- 
ditions of  body.  This  wonderful  faculty  was 
intended  for  our  advancement  in  Spiritual  unfold- 
ment  by  its  proper  use  in  picturing  our  highest 
ideals,  in  order  that  better  and  still  better  condi- 
tions should  be  realized  in  experience.  By  the 
use  of  this  faculty  we  may  debase  or  even  destroy 
our  bodies,  or  we  may  purify  and  rejuvenate  them, 
according  to  the  character  of  the  pictures  we 

make. 

82 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

The  -cause  of  the  late  Charles  Dickens'  death 
was  a  mental  picture  made  several  years  before, 
which  was  repeated  with  depressing  effect,  every 
time  the  revolving  year  brought  to  his  mind  the 
memory  of  the  railroad  wreck  with  all  its  horrors. 
The  recurring  date  gave  occasion  for  calling  up 
the  terrible  picture,  each  time  with  greater  vivid- 
ness and  depression,  as  the  physical  body  became 
weaker, — that  picture  seeming  real  to  his  deli- 
cately sensitive  nerves,  so  that  his  friends  said  he 
was  wandering  in  mind,  —  until  the  frail  body  sank 
beneath  the  heavy  "  burden  "  which  human  thought 
had  imposed,  on  a  9th  of  June,  the  anniversary  of 
the  railroad  wreck. 

Affirmations  of  Truth  fill  the  mind's  gallery  with 
beautiful  pictures,  awakening  joy,  harmony,  and 
health.  By  the  affirmation  of  Truth  we  present 
these  pictures  to  the  mind,  and  emblazon  them  on 
its  walls.  Our  ideals  are  our  greatest,  most  useful 
and  helpful  pictures.  Our  highest  ideal  is  our 
conception  of  God ;  which  is  always  the  most  im- 
portant and  potent  of  our  image  creations,  and 
the  one  most  essential  to  a  sound  mind  and  a 
healthy  body. 

Our  First  Affirmation,  then,  must  be  the  state- 
83 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

ment  of  our  conception  of  God,  so  far  as  it  is  pos- 
sible to  formulate  it  —  as  the  expression  of  our 
highest  ideal.  But  the  word-expression  is  not  the 
real  picture,  the  picture  which  expresses  itself  out- 
wardly in  the  body.  The  real  picture  is  the  Ideal 
in  the  mind's  gallery,  which  never  can  be  fully 
expressed  in  intellectual  words.  This  is  the  pic- 
ture which  means  everything  to  the  individual; 
which  controls  his  life  and  affects  his  body. 

Could  men  but  realize  that  all  discord  and  dis- 
tress, all  sin  and  suffering,  failures  and  calamities, 
are  directly  due  to  a  false  conception  of  God,  they 
would  begin  to  search  for  the  true  God.  But  who 
can  give  us  the  perfect  picture?  No  one;  it  is 
not  in  another's  power  to  communicate  his  ideal. 
Your  ideal  is  exclusively  your  own,  and  you  can- 
not give  it  to  another.  The  best  you  can  do  is  to 
roughly  sketch  it  in  intellectual  terms,  and  in  that 
imperfect  state  present  it  to  the  mind  of  another. 
Yet  this  sketch  of  a  high  ideal  is  only  an  imitation 
of  the  real  picture ;  which  cannot,  therefore,  im- 
press the  mind  of  the  second  party  with  the  same 
force  as  the  original  idea  impressed  the  original 
thinker,  who  was  its  creator  and  exclusive  owner. 

But  the  intellectual  word-picture  may  aid  another 

84 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

in  forming  his  ideal,  which  is  exclusively  his  own. 
This  word-picture  is  the  best  you  can  give.  For 
only  Divinity  can  reveal  Divinity  in  the  true  Ideal, 
and  only  to  the  Divine  Self  can  the  Divine  reveal 
himself.  Only  by  such  original  pictures  may  we 
know  God,  "  whom  to  know  aright,  is  Life 
eternal." 

Since  eternal  Life  depends  on  knowing  God 
aright  —  on  having  a  true  concept  of  God  — 
then  "  let  the  waters  "  of  thought  "  be  gathered 
together  in  one  place  "  —  in  concentration  on  this 
one  ideal  —  and  "  let  the  dry  land  appear."  Thus 
may  we  perfect  our  Ideal. 

When  we  had  in  our  First  Chapter  formed  our 
Ideal  picture,  we  expressed  that  picture  in  our 
definition  of  God.  This  was  our  word-picture  of 
our  Ideal-picture,  which  we  now  offer  to  another: 

f  Being,        f  Life,          ("  Principle, 
God  is  \     Mind,     ^     Truth,  \     Substance, 

L  Spirit,  I  Love,  [  Will, — 
Omniscient,  Omnipotent,  Omnipresent;  a  Trinity 
of  Trinities,  in  Unity ;  the  All-embracing,  Infinite 
ONE ;  the  Being  of  all  beings,  the  Life  of  all  lives, 
the  Substance  of  all  substances ;  the  Universal, 
Unchangeable  Good;  the  All-Father-Mother-Son. 

85 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

For  Man  is  a  Son  of  God,  with  all  that  this 
implies. 

This  is  our  First  Affirmation  —  our  greatest 
picture. 

Our  Second  Affirmation  will  be :  Whatever  God 
is,  that  I  am. 

For  as  I  am  His  Child,  I  must  be  like  Him  — 
of  the  same  Substance. 

Our  Third  Affirmation  will  be :  Since  I  am  a 
Son  of  God  I  am  Holy,  like  Him,  —  not  a  sinner. 

Our  Fourth  Affirmation  will  be :  God's  Will  is 
my  Will.  This  by  reason  of  my  Son-ship  and 
likeness  to  Him.  Realizing  this,  I  cannot  trans- 
gress his  Will. 

These  Four  Affirmations  resolve  themselves  into 
one  great  picture,  which  fill  the  whole  mind  with 
an  illumination,  when  seen  in  all  their  perfection. 
This  is  using  the  imaging  faculty  for  its  highest 
use,  which  carries  us  to  the  realization  of  our 
highest. 

Let  us  examine  these  Affirmations  separately. 

First :    God  is. 

Analyzing  our  definition  of  God,  that  the  First 
Affirmation  may  the  more  clearly  reveal  him,  we 
first  note  that  every  affirmation  of  Truth  implies 

86 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

the  denial  of  its  logical  Opposite  or  Contradictory. 
For  we  have  seen  that  a  contradictory  of  Truth  is 
not  a  Reality.  It  is  only  its  logical  opposite — a 
mere  figmental  necessity  of  reason.  For  Reason  is 
the  process  of  Comparison.  Hence  Phrenology 
names  that  faculty  "  Comparison."  Opposites  are 
the  necessity  of  reason.  These  Reason  handles  for 
the  purpose  of  solving  problems,  determining  the 
reality  and  rejecting  the  unreality;  for  this  is  its 
problem. 

To  determine  Truth  is  the  high  function  of 
Reason.  And  this  necessarily  implies  the  rejection 
of  the  false ;  because  the  reasoner  is  in  search  of 
Truth  only.  Therefore  when  we  consider  "  Good," 
"  Life,"  "  Truth,"  "  Substance,"  etc.,  reason  pro- 
ceeds to  contrast  these  with  their  figmental  oppo- 
sites,  for  the  purpose  of  rinding  the  thing  of  worth. 
And  having  thereby  determined  the  eternal,  inde- 
structible realities,  places  them  where  all  realities 
belong,  in  the  realm  of  Divinity;  —  accepting 
Good,  and  rejecting  Evil ;  accepting  Life,  and  re- 
jecting Death ;  accepting  Truth,  and  rejecting 
Falsity ;  accepting  Substance,  and  rejecting  Ap- 
pearance. 

Not  only  is  the  finding  of  Truth  the  function  of 
87 


Reason,  but  the  denial  or  rejection  of  its  Contra- 
dictory is  equally  its  function.  Rejection  of  un- 
realities are  the  Corollaries  of  her  Affirmations. 
For  the  Corollary  is  as  inevitable  as  the  Conclu- 
sion. 

The  honest  searcher  for  Truth  will  through 
reason  find  it;  and  finding,  will  accept  it.  The 
finding  of  Truth  uncovers  and  exposes  the  falsity 
of  error,  which  the  honest  searcher  now  rejects. 

Thus  our  reasoning  exposes  the  false  claims  of 
evil,  death,  etc.,  and  relegates  them  to  the  dark- 
some realm  of  unreality,  nothingness,  illusion. 
"The  accuser  of  my  brethren  is  cast  down." 
Error  is  always  the  "  accuser  "  of  Truth ;  evil  is 
always  the  "  accuser  "  of  Good. 

This  is  the  "  Satan  that  deceiveth  the  nations ;  " 
and  which  must  be  ultimately  destroyed  by  the 
irresistible  power  of  true  reasoning.  The  triumph 
of  Truth  over  error  is  the  triumph  of  Christ  over 
Satan. 

The  speaking  of  Truth  is  always  God  speaking. 
If  you  would  heal  your  neighbor  in  body,  mind, 
or  environment,  speak  Truth  to  him. 

When,  returning  from  the  Captivity,  Zerubabel, 
both  King  and  Priest,  undertook  to  rebuild  the 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

temple,  this  was  his  watchword  among  his  work- 
men :  "  Speak  ye  every  man  Truth  to  his 
neighbor." 

You  are  King  in  your  kingdom.  You  are 
Zerubabel,  both  High  Priest  and  King.  If  you 
have  been  in  Babylonian  Captivity,  your  body- 
temple  has  gotten  out  of  repair.  Your  task  is  to 
rebuild  it  pure  and  holy,  making  it  a  fit  temple 
for  the  Holy  One.  Only  by  speaking  Truth  can 
God's  Temple  be  rebuilt.  You  must  speak  Truth 
concerning  it;  you  must  speak  Truth  to  your 
neighbor. 

From  the  high  standpoint  of  Truth  you  cannot 
say,  "I  Am  sick,"  or  "You  are  sick;"  "I  Am 
weak,"  or  "  You  are  weak ; "  because  the  Son  of  God 
is  never  sick  or  weak.  You  cannot  heal  your  neigh- 
bor by  seeing  him  sick.  See  God  in  him ;  —  see 
the  Son  of  God  —  his  true  Self. 

Thus  you  "  speak  Truth "  to  him ;  and  "  the 
Truth  shall  make  him  free." 

If  he  is  suffering  in  invalidism  he  is  in  his  Baby- 
lonian Captivity,  bound  with  the  brazen  fetters  of 
error,  which  only  Truth  has  power  to  break.  To 
this  end  your  spoken  word  of  Truth  is  Omnipotent, 
when  you  realize  that  Truth  spoken  is  God  speak- 

89 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

ing.  The  individual  should  always  be  able  to  say, 
"  It  is  not  I  that  speak,  but  the  Father  who  dwelleth 
in  me."  Let  God  speak  his  Word  through  your 
lips. 

If  my  pneumonia  or  congestion  is  the  outpict- 
uring  of  my  fear  or  inordinate  passion,  or  if  my 
constipation  is  the  result  of  my  selfishness,  how 
absurd  to  seek  relief  in  drugs  !  Would  you  dose 
a  man  for  fear?  Would  you  give  cathartics  for 
selfishness?  The  simple  remedy  is,  the  conscious- 
ness of  Truth.  Therefore  "  Speak  ye  every  man 
Truth  to  his  neighbor." 

Second  :  I  Am  what  God  is. 

Since  I  am  what  God  is,  the  Substance  of  my 
Being  is  God-substance. 

Therefore  I  am  perfect.  I  am  the  perfect  Idea, 
created  in,  and  sent  forth  from  Divine  Mind. 
There  is  Divine  perfection  in  my  essential  Being. 
This  is  what  I  am.  How  can  I  be  or  manifest 
otherwise  than  what  I  am?  Can  the  Idea  change 
from  the  high  standard  of  Divine  perfection  ?  Then 
as  an  emanation  of  Divine  Mind,  the  offspring  of 
Divine  Being,  I  am  perfect,  because  God,  my 
Father,  is  perfect.  Then  how  comes  it  that  I 
seem  to  be  manifesting  otherwise  than  perfection? 

90 


THE    "THIRD    DAY" 

It  is  because  I  am  an  individual,  an  Idea,  of  Infi- 
nite Mind  individuated.  As  an  individual  I  have 
free  choice  and  free  will.  Otherwise  I  am  not  an 
individual.  And  thus  it  naturally  transpires  that 
in  the  free  use  of  my  individual  powers  I  make 
mistakes,  the  consequences  of  which  I  must 
stand. 

Nevertheless  I  am  an  individuation  of  the  Infi- 
nite, and  must  therefore  possess  in  potentiality 
every  Divine  attribute  in  perfection.  Then  it  is 
the  peculiar  privilege  of  every  individual  to  un- 
fold in  consciousness  the  fulness  of  that  potenti- 
ality ;  until  perfection  in  consciousness  is  attained, 
—  until  the  estate  of  God  is  reached. 

This  is  the  climax  of  all  unfoldment,  the  end 
and  object  of  creation.  For  God  is  continually 
rejoicing  in  beholding  in  his  creation  the  unfold- 
ment of  himself  in  the  consciousness  of  his  myriads 
of  individuations. 

The  object  of  Creation  was,  that  God  might 
reveal  himself  to  himself  by  a  universal  unfold- 
ment in  all  these  individuations. 

As  we  have  said,  mistakes  are  inevitable  in  the 
nature  of  objective  reason  and  investigation.  Yet 
they  are  inevitable  only  because  man  has  sepa- 

9* 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

rated  himself  in  consciousness  from  the  inexhaus- 
tible fountain  of  Infinite  Wisdom.  And  all  this 
seems  natural  in  the  nature  of  individual  existence. 

After  all,  this  separation  from  the  Divine  in  con- 
sciousness is  only  an  illusion;  for  "in  Him  we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  Being,"  whether  or 
not  we  are  conscious  of  it.  The  fact  remains. 
And  our  problem  seems  to  be,  to  gain  the  con- 
sciousness of  what  we  are. 

When  we  have  learned  well  the  lesson  of  listening 
to  the  Voice  of  Wisdom  within,  we  shall  cease  to 
make  mistakes,  and  shall  be  "  led  into  all  truth." 
We  shall  unfold  our  Divinity,  as  we  listen  to  and 
obey  this  heavenly  monitor. 

Now,  since  in  my  True  Being  I  am  the  Image 
and  Likeness  of  the  Divine  Idea,  just  so  in  my 
manifest  expression  I  am  the  image  and  likeness 
of  my  own  idea.  The  Divine  Idea,  in  the  Divine 
Consciousness,  was  brought  forth  in  its  Image  and 
Likeness,  as  the  Divine  Man  of  the  First  Chapter 
of  Genesis;  and  the  human  idea,  in  the  Adam- 
Consciousness,  was  brought  forth  after  its  image 
and  likeness,  as  the  Adam  Man  of  the  Second 
Chapter,  obedient  to  the  same  universal  law  of 
expression.  The  one  is  expression  on  the  Spirit- 

92 


THE    "THIRD   DAY" 

ual  plane ;  the  other  is  expression  on  the  natural 
plane,  by  the  same  law. 

Therefore  God  is  not  responsible  for  my  imper- 
fect bodily  expression.  It  is  after  my  own  like- 
ness. I  am  the  expression  of  my  own  idea  of 
myself.  I  am  just  as  Spiritual  or  just  as  material 
as  I  think  myself  to  be.  "  As  a  man  thinketh  in 
his  heart,  so  is  he."  —  Prov.  23:  3. 

Third :  I  Am  Holy,  because  a  Son  of  God. 

Whatever  we  predicate  of  God  we  may  predicate 
of  every  Son  of  God,  according  to  the  foregoing 
reasoning.  Of  Divine  origin  we  should  reflect  all 
Divine  qualities  and  attributes  —  Holiness,  Wis- 
dom, Love,  Life,  Strength,  etc.  For  as  the  moon 
reflects  the  light  of  the  sun,  so  the  True  man 
reflects  the  Divine  Light  of  Wisdom,  and  the  false 
man  (Carnal  Mind)  reflects  the  inferior  light  of 
human  thought. 

When  we  are  still  in  thought,  they  say,  we  are 
reflecting.  Reflecting  what?  Reflecting  thoughts 
which  come  to  the  mind  in  that  stillness.  For  the 
atmosphere  is  full  of  thoughts.  Yet  you  are  not 
at  the  mercy  of  these  drift  thoughts,  if  we  may  call 
them  so.  You  have  power  to  shut  your  door 
against  all  undesirable  thoughts  and  admit  only 

93 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

the  class  you  choose.  Like  Daniel  you  may  close 
your  door  to  the  street  and  continually  have  your 
"  windows  open  towards  Jerusalem."  You  may 
close  your  door  to  every  debasing  thought  which 
would  tend  to  wreck  your  life,  and  be  open  and 
receptive  to  the  Royal  heritage  of  the  Sons  of 
God.  This  is  the  "  door  "  which  you  "shut  and 
no  man  openeth,"  or  you  open  and  no  man  shut- 
teth. 

Knowing  your  power  to  choose  and  act,  you  may 
compel  Carnal  Mind  to  be  still — to  stand  aside  as 
it  were,  and  let  the  Heavenly  Man  have  full  sway. 
Then  will  you  be  a  Divine  reflector  of  Divine 
Principles. 

Fourth:   God's  Will  is  my  Will. 

Of  course  you  make  this  Affirmation  when  real- 
izing your  True  Self.  And  here  you  can  say, 
"  God  works  through  me  to  will  and  to  do  what- 
ever I  ought  to  do."  It  is  impossible  to  conceive 
the  vast  power  of  the  will,  when  we  realize  the 
Divine  Will  working  with  our  will. 

God's  Will  is  forever  operating,  whether  we 
think  so  or  not.  As  Matthew  Arnold  said : 
"  There  is  a  power  not  ourselves  that  forever 


94 


THE    "THIRD  DAY" 

makes  for  righteousness ;  "  —  and  whether  we  are 
in  obedience  or  not. 

When  you  have  conquered  self  so  fully  that  you 
can  say :  "  Not  my  will,  but  Thy  Will,"  and  at 
the  same  time  have  the  realizing  sense  of  the  Om- 
nipotent WILL  working  in  you,  —  then  are  you  in 
a  position  to  begin  to  know  your  Omnipotent 
Powers.  For  the  greatest  power  and  freedom  for 
the  individual  do  not  consist  in  carrying  out  his 
own  sweet  will,  but  in  making  the  Divine  his  own 
sweet  Will. 

To  unfold  your  Divine  Consciousness  and  Power 
is  the  goal  of  all  your  struggles.  To  this  end 
these  Affirmations  may  be  helpful. 

First :  You  must  know  God  —  in  Consciousness. 
This  necessitates  a  true  conception  of  him.  This 
is  your  greatest  picture  in  your  gallery  for  fre- 
quent meditation  on  and  communion  with. 

Second :  You  must  know  yourself  a  Son  of 
God,  perfect  and  complete. 

Third :  You  must  know  your  own  Holiness  as  a 
Son  of  God. 

Fourth :  Your  will  must  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
Divine  Will. 

Having  "  gathered  together  the  waters  "  of  the 
95 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

mind  in  this  "  one  place  "  —  the  place  ot  Divinity 
—  so  as  to  form  the  highest  possible  conception  of 
God  by  means  of  this  beautiful  imagery,  "  the 
Dry  Land  appears,"  —  the  most  substantial  basis 
of  a  great  character  is  formed. 


IV 


THE       "  FOURTH       DAY  "  :  —  THE      "  TWO      GREAT 
LIGHTS  " 

"  And  God  made  Two  Great  Lights,  the  Greater  Light  to 
rule  the  Day  and  the  Lesser  Light  to  rule  the  Night."  — 
Gen.  i  :  16. 

WHETHER  advancing  in  the  Divine  Way  of  evolu- 
tion from  the  Human  to  the  Divine  Consciousness, 
or  plodding  along  in  the  old  path  of  the  old  Con- 
sciousness, —  there  are  "  Two  Great  Lights "  by 
one  or  the  other  of  which  every  man  is  guided,  — 
the  one  having  power  to  reveal  God  and  unfold 
the  God-Consciousness  in  man,  the  other  affording 
light  of  a  different  and  inferior  order,  quite  insuffi- 
cient and  incompetent  to  reveal  or  point  the  way 
to  God.  To  the  Children  of  the  Regeneration 
both  these  lights  are  in  evidence  and  daily  use, 
but  to  those  on  the  plane  of  Generation  without 
Regeneration  only  the  "  Lesser  Light "  is  known. 
They  are  in  Spiritual  darkness. 

97 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

The  Sun  is  the  symbol  of  the  "  Greater  Light," 
which  "  rules  the  Day  "  of  Spiritual  Understand- 
ing. The  "  Greater  Light "  is  Spiritual  Wisdom. 
The  Moon  is  the  symbol  of  the  "  Lesser  Light," 
which  "  rules  the  Night "  of  unregenerate  Carnal 
Mind.  The  "  Lesser  Light  "  is  Intellect. 

"  The  Two  Great  Lights "  by  which  we  are 
guided  are  Spiritual  Wisdom  and  Intellectual 
Wisdom,  or  for  the  sake  of  a  distinction  we  may 
designate  them  as  WISDOM  and  KNOWLEDGE. 

There  is  a  greater  light  than  Intellect ;  for  this 
is  a  mere  reflection.  The  "  Greater  Light "  is 
Christ,  the  "  Light  of  the  world."  And  the  Christ 
we  may  identify  with  Truth  or  Wisdom.  John 
said  of  the  coming  One :  "  That  was  the  True 
Light,  that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world."  This  Light  Paul  called,  "  The  Wis- 
dom of  God." 

Spiritual  Wisdom,  then,  is  the  "  Light  of  the 
World,"  the  Christ,  which  finds  its  reflection  in 
Intellect. 

Unregenerate  man  knows  and  acknowledges  no 
other  light  than  Intellect.  Yet  he  knows  not  his 
ignorance.  For  intellect  is  "  wise  in  its  own 
conceit." 


THE   "FOURTH   DAY" 

The  wide  difference  between  original  and  re- 
flected light  is  due  to  the  imperfect  reflector.  In- 
tellect neither  reflects  the  full  intensity  nor  the  full 
quality  of  the  True  Light. 

If  the  moon  in  the  heavens  were  a  perfect  re- 
flector, the  sun's  and  the  moon's  rays  would  be 
exactly  alike,  both  in  intensity  and  quality.  So 
by  correspondence,  if  Man  were  a  perfect  reflector, 
he  would  reflect  through  intellect  Heavenly  Wis- 
dom ;  and  then  there  would  be  no  difference  be- 
tween Divine  and  Human  Wisdom.  Man  cannot 
be  a  perfect  reflector  until  he  arrives  at  the  Divine 
Consciousness,  where  he  has  continuous  illumina- 
tion. Then  he  dwells  in  the  Light,  and  is  the 
Light.  This  is  the  Theosophist's  "  Nirvana." 

But  reflected  light  is  always  modified  by  the  re- 
flector, on  whatever  plane,  whether  natural  or 
Spiritual. 

The  Masculine  and  Feminine  principle  is  uni- 
versal throughout  nature  on  every  plane.  It  is 
the  principle,  "  whereby  everything  hangeth  in  the 
equilibrium  of  balance,"  as  the  Caballists  say. 

From  the  Divine  Being  in  the  heaven  of  heavens 
all  the  way  down  to  the  humblest  monad  in  the 
Kosmos,  through  every  manifestation  of  life,  this 

99 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

biological  principle  obtains,  as  the  basis  of  all  ex- 
istence, as  the  guarantee  for  the  perpetuity  of  all 
things,  as  the  basis  for  the  continued  Being  of  both 
God  and  man. 

Therefore,  as  the  sun  shines  upon  the  earth 
with  its  masculine  and  feminine  rays  of  Heat  and 
Light,  making  the  earth  teem  with  living  forms 
through  the  generating  power  of  these  equili- 
brated creative  rays,  — just  so  the  "  Greater  Light," 
—  the  Divine  "Sun  of  Righteousness"  — shines 
upon  the  human  consciousness  with  its  masculine 
and  feminine  rays  of  Love  and  Wisdom,  with  a 
corresponding  generating  power;  which  on  the 
Spiritual  plane  we  call  by  the  higher  name,  Regen- 
eration. This  is  what  Isaiah  means,  when  he  says : 
"  Upon  you  that  fear  my  Name  shall  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  arise  with  healing  in  his  wings." 

Christ  is  the  omnipresent  "  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness," and  thus  the  "  Light  of  the  world."  Not 
only  are  the  double  rays  of  the  Sun,  heat  and 
light,  a  wedded  pair,  but  the  double  rays  of  the 
"  Sun  of  Righteousness,"  "  Love  and  Wisdom,"  are 
also  a  wedded  pair.  Neither  can  they  in  either 
case  be  divorced,  without  forfeiting  the  law  of 
Life,  the  generating  principle.  These  biological 


THE    "FOURTH   DAY" 

rays  of  the  Sun  falling  upon  the  moon  become 
vitally  changed  by  the  moon  absorbing  the  Heal 
rays,  so  that  it  can  reflect  to  us  only  the  Light 
rays.  Consequently  we  have  the  words  "  lunacy  " 
and  "  moon-struck,"  to  indicate  the  death-dealing 
effect  of  Light  divorced  from  Heat.  In  like 
manner,  and  by  the  exact  Law  of  Correspondences, 
mortal  man  being  an  imperfect  reflector,  the  Light 
of  Intellect  has  lost  its  quickening  Life-begetting 
element  of  Love,  and  is  therefore  in  the  "  moon- 
struck "  consciousness  of  mortality.  The  Con- 
sciousness of  LIFE  can  be  gained  only  by  the 
restoration  of  the  full  True  Light  of  the  "  Sun  of 
Righteousness,"  equipped  with  its  biological  rays 
and  regenerating  power. 

GOD  is  the  Great  Original  Light  —  "The  Sun 
of  Righteousness,"  Omnipotent  with  generating 
and  regenerating  power  (for  this  creative  power  is 
always  God-power,  wherever  you  find  it) ;  and 
Christ  is  the  Illuminating  Ray  —  the  Divine  "  Efful- 
gence "  —  the  "  Only  Begotten,"  proceeding  from 
the  Father.  "  I  Am  the  Light  of  the  world,"  — 
the  Shining  Light  —  "  The  Effulgence  of  the 
Father's  Glory"  (Heb.  1:3).  That  is:  God  is 
the  SUN  of  Righteousness ;  and  Christ  is  the 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Shining  Light,  proceeding  from  —  sent  forth  from 
—  the  Father.  And  this  Christ  or  Divine  "  Efful- 
gence" is  "The  Wisdom  of  God."  "Christ  the 
Power  of  God  and  the  WISDOM  of  God."  This 
interior  Wisdom,  which  illuminates  the  mind,  is 
the  wonderful  Effulgence  of  the  "  Greater  Light." 

Consequently  the  True  Man  is  conscious  of  the 
Light,  and  walks  in  the  Light.  But  the  unawak- 
ened,  the  unregenerate,  continue  in  the  dream  life 
of  material  conceptions.  Being  children  of  the 
Night  instead  of  the  Day,  they  are  incapable  of 
perceiving  the  Greater  Light  of  Spiritual  Wisdom, 
notwithstanding  its  omnipresence;  because  it  is 
Light  of  a  different  kind,  on  a  different  plane,  and 
must  therefore  require  a  higher  order  of  percep- 
tives  to  cognize  it. 

But  in  the  sense  consciousness  they  know  noth- 
ing better  than  the  Lesser  Light.  Hence  mortal 
man  does  not  know  Truth.  His  conceptions  are 
misconceptions.  He  deals  in  things  of  the  Night. 

Through  the  benighting  effect  of  the  Sin-Con- 
sciousness many  men  see  very  dimly,  even  on  the 
plane  of  intellect.  Their  light  is  the  moon  in  her 
quarter.  And  the  "dark  of  the  moon"  is  none 


102 


THE    "FOURTH   DAY" 

too  severe  a  term  to  represent  the  deep  darkness 
of  some  beclouded  intellects. 

But  in  order  that  Intellect  may  be  fully  illumi- 
nated with  its  "  full-moon  "  glory,  and  realize  its 
transcendent  powers,  there  must  be  a  New  Birth, 
an  awakening  to  a  New  Consciousness.  There 
must  be  a  New  Creation.  Then  through  the 
regenerating  power  of  the  Christ  within  there  will 
be  a  regenerated  intellect,  an  illuminated  mind. 

Spiritual  Perception  sees  clearly  in  the  efful- 
gence of  Divine  Wisdom,  —  like  the  "  X-Ray," 
penetrating  deeper  than  the  external  appearance, 
which  only  sense  perception  beholds,  into  the 
very  substance  of  things,  —  finding  beneath  the 
phenomenal  the  eternal  Spiritual  Reality. 

"  When  He  the  Spirit  of  Truth  is  come,  He 
shall  guide  you  into  all  Truth."  That  is,  when 
the  Greater  Light  of  the  Christ  Illumination  shines 
upon  your  soul,  —  when  your  Spiritual  sight  is 
opened, — then  all  the  illusions  of  the  "moon- 
struck "  Sin-Consciousness  will  be  swallowed  up 
in  the  Spiritual  Light  of  the  Christ-Consciousness, 
as  the  moon  disappears  in  the  sun's  greater  light. 
This  is  Salvation,  — sense  lost  in  Spirit  —  Illusion 

swallowed    up    in    Reality.     This    is  your  "  First 

103 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

Resurrection,"  where  corruption  and  death  disap- 
pear from  your  consciousness ;  because  "  this  cor- 
ruptible shall  put  on  incorruption,"  and  "  death 
shall  be  swallowed  up  in  life." 

For  the  end  and  purpose  of  this  Spiritual  evo- 
lution is  the  transformation  of  the  consciousness, 
through  material  conceptions  yielding  to  Spiritual 
Understanding;  until  the  higher  plane  of  the 
Spiritual  Consciousness  is  reached,  and  the  body 
consequently  undergoes  a  corresponding  trans- 
formation. 

We  shall  receive  much  or  little  from  reading 
our  Bible,  according  to  whether  we  see  it  in  the 
Greater  or  the  Lesser  Light.  For  in  the  one  case 
the  mind  will  receive  a  wonderful  Spiritual  insight, 
and  the  soul  will  be  fed  with  the  manna  of  heaven, 
and  in  the  other  case  it  will  receive  only  the  intel- 
lectual ideas  involved. 

The  "  letter  of  the  Word  "  is  strictly  intellectual ; 
and  it  is  so  human  to  see  only  intellectually !  Yet 
there  is  a  wonderful  mine  of  Spiritual  wealth  hid- 
den beneath  the  letter,  if  only  men  would  study 
to  understand.  Few  see  beyond  "  the  letter  that 
killeth." 

All  the  bitter  controversies  which  divide  Christ- 
104 


THE    "FOURTH   DAY" 

endom  into  sects,  arise  from  the  different  con- 
structions put  on  the  letter,  to  carry  out  intellect's 
plan  or  conception,  —  quite  overlooking  the  Spirit- 
ual idea,  for  the  sake  of  which  the  symbolic  letter 
was  written. 

When  we  learn  to  see  in  the  radiance  of  the 
Greater  Light,  we  shall  read  an  entirely  different 
story.  We  shall  behold  Spiritual  things,  which 
afford  us  food  and  transforming  Light.  We  shall 
see  that  the  stories,  incidents,  characters,  and 
histories  of  the  Bible  are  symbolic  of  correspond- 
ential  experiences  in  the  many-sided  kaleidoscope 
of  human  life.  In  that  wonderful  light  Time  and 
Space  are  eliminated ;  so  that  everything  is  Now 
and  Here ;  and  the  Word  is  a  living  Word  —  in 
the  "Living  Present" — always  active  and  alive. 

"  If  any  man  walk  in  the  Day  he  stumbleth  not, 
because  the  (Greater)  Light  is  in  him"  (John 
II  19).  But  they  who  walk  in  the  Night  (of  the 
Lesser  Light)  stumble  at  the  contradictions  of  the 
letter,  which  are  irreconcilable  from  the  letter's 
standpoint. 

Theologians  will  never  succeed  in  harmonizing 
their  differences,  until  they  open  their  eyes  to  the 
Spiritual  meaning  of  the  Word,  when  they  will 

105 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

see  that  Truth  is  One  and  indivisible,  symmetrical 
and  unrendable,  —  the  "seamless  robe"  of  Christ. 
Spiritual  sight  will  not  only  transform  our  The- 
ology, but  will  transform  our  world ;  because  be- 
ing ourselves  transformed,  we  shall  see  through 
new  eyes.  A  man  of  purely  material  thought 
sees  all  things  crudely  material ;  one  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  sin  sees  the  sinner  everywhere ;  while 
the  Spiritually  awakened  man — in  the  Spiritual 
Consciousness  —  sees  divinely,  as  through  God's 
eyes,  the  Divine  in  everything.  He  has  a  "  New 
Heaven  and  a  New  Earth." 

People  without  Spiritual  vision  always  read 
scripture  literally,  expecting  the  world  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  and  by,  and  a  new  world  created  out 
of  the  wreck  of  the  old ;  but  they  who  see  Spirit- 
ually see  the  Spiritual  everywhere,  having  trans- 
formed their  world  through  the  transformation  of 
their  minds, — thus  fulfilling  the  scripture. 

Emerson  said:  "It  animates  me  to  create  my 
own  world  through  the  purification  of  my  soul." 
Paul  expresses  the  same  idea  thus :  "  Be  ye  trans- 
formed by  the  renewing  of  your  mind  "  (Rom. 
12  :2). 

We  always  see  from  our  own  standpoint  — 
106 


THE    "FOURTH   DAY" 

through  our  own  thought-spectacles.  The  man 
of  material  thought  sees  materially;  and  the  man 
of  Spiritual  thought  sees  Spiritually.  We  see 
according  to  what  we  are ;  and  we  are  according 
to  our  seeing.  And  so  Carlyle  said :  "  What  thou 
seest,  that  thou  beest." 

Thus  the  world  you  see  is  exactly  according  to 
the  pattern  of  your  own  thought.  Therefore  if  it 
displeases  you,  you  may  go  to  work  and  change 
it.  When  you  have  transformed  yourself,  your 
world  will  be  transformed.  Therefore  it  is  not  the 
outer  world  that  is  to  be  destroyed.  The  old 
world  to  be  burned  up  and  destroyed  is  the  miser- 
able world  of  your  old  miserable  conceptions. 
The  entire  work  of  destruction  and  conflagration 
is  to  be  accomplished  within  by  the  "  Consuming 
Fire  "  of  God  in  the  soul.  The  purifying  fire  will 
so  transform  you  that  you  will  see  a  "  New  Heaven 
and  a  New  Earth."  For  what  you  see  in  others  is 
only  what  is  in  yourself;  else  you  could  not  see  it 
in  others.  This  is  what  Jesus  meant  when  he  said, 
"  Why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
brother's  eye,  and  considerest  not  the  beam  that 
is  in  thine  own  eye?"  (Lu.  6:41.)  The  color  of 
your  own  thought-spectacles  colors  everything 

107 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

you  look  upon.  You  are  always  looking  through 
the  mist  of  your  own  thought.  And  thus  Jesus 
said  :  "  With  what  judgment  ye  judge  ye  shall  be 
judged  "  (Mat.  7:1).  Then  the  adverse  judgment 
you  render  of  another  condemns  you  of  the  same 
thing;  because  you  cannot  see  what  is  not  in 
yourself.  Then  if  you  would  see  your  brother 
reformed,  your  first  duty  is  to  reform  yourself. 
This  is  the  great  amalgam  that  will  bring  out  the 
Gold  of  Goodness  in  your  brother.  This  is  the 
secret  of  all  true  reform.  Repression  and  prisons 
do  not  reform ;  they  only  make  emphatic  the  evil. 
Make  emphatic  the  Good  in  your  brother  by  rec- 
ognizing it  there,  if  you  would  bring  out  the  Good 
that  is  in  him.  "  Thou  hypocrite !  first  cast  the 
beam  out  of  thine  own  eye ;  then  shalt  thou  see 
clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  from  thy  brother's 
eye  "  (Lu.  6:42). 

This  is  the  scientific  way;  but  it  reveals  the  un- 
welcome fact  that  the  fault  is  in  yourself.  The 
critic  may  always  be  criticised.  "  The  fault  is  in 
the  finder."  "  The  pure  in  heart  see  God  "  —  not 
evil.  When  you  recognize  the  Son  of  God  both 
in  yourself  and  your  brother  you  will  see  only  per- 
fection ;  you  will  see  as  God  sees.  In  fact,  your 

108 


THE    "FOURTH   DAY" 

seeing  will  be  God's  seeing.  Then  if  you  think 
your  brother  needs  reforming,  study  to  see  him  a 
Son  of  God ;  refuse  to  see  the  appearance  of  sin 
in  him ;  steadfastly  and  persistently  declare  his 
perfection,  until  the  false  appearance  disappears 
from  his  life  and  he  manifests  according  to  your 
reformed  thought.  Perverted  humanity  is  ever 
solicitous  for  and  condemnatory  of  the  other,  sel- 
dom seeing  his  own  faults. 

The  thoughts  you  send  out  into  the  world  will 
surely  be  heard  from  again ;  and  they  will  return 
to  you  with  their  legitimate  fruit. 

Your  thought  of  cruel  hostility  to  your  neigh- 
bor will  some  time  come  down  upon  your  own 
head  in  neuralgiac  or  other  torturing  experience, 
according  to  natural  law.  If  you  send  out  the 
seed  thought  of  theft  by  coveting  your  neighbor's 
beautiful  goods,  jewels,  apparel,  house,  equipage, 
or  good  looks,  even — you  need  not  think  it  a 
strange  or  unjust  experience  if  a  veritable  thief 
breaks  into  your  house  and  steals  your  purse. 
Covetousness  was  the  thief-thought  you  sent  out 
and  it  brought  you  the  thief.  You  are  simply 
reaping  what  you  have  been  sowing  —  drawing  to 
yourself  your  own. 

109 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

Jesus  said :  "  He  that  is  angry  with  his  brother 
is  a  murderer"  (Mat.  5:21,  22).  If,  then,  you 
have  had  bitter  anger  and  cruel  hatred  against 
your  brother  you  need  not  think  it  a  matter  of 
strange  injustice  or  cruel  fate  if  some  dark  night 
a  veritable  murderer  should  spring  upon  you  from 
some  dark  alley.  In  your  anger  you  sent  out  the 
murder-thought  and  it  brought  you  the  murderer. 
Not  only  do  "  curses  like  chickens  come  home  to 
roost,"  but  every  thought  brings  its  legitimate 
returns.  Therefore  when  you  curse  your  neighbor 
you  but  curse  yourself.  Your  curse  can  never 
reach  him  if  he  stands  firmly  and  securely  in 
Truth,  conscious  of  his  protection.  It  must  by 
natural  law  rebound  to  you.  "  His  mischief  shall 
return  upon  his  own  head,  and  his  violent  dealing 
shall  come  down  upon  his  own  pate"  (Ps.  7:  16). 
"  With  what  measure  ye  mete  it  shall  be  measured 
to  you  again"  (Mat.  7:2).  Then  I  may  well  ex- 
pect that  my  stingy  thought  may  bring  me  short 
weight  from  the  grocer.  I  am  always  getting 
what  belongs  to  me.  Shall  I  infer  that  law  is  not 
good  because  it  brings  me  evil  for  my  evil?  It 
will  just  as  faithfully  bring  me  good  for  my  good. 
Law  is  impartial  and  always  just.  If  I  throw  a 


THE   "FOURTH   DAY" 

muddy  ball  into  the  air  it  soon  returns  to  soil  my 
hands  and  clothes ;  but  if  I  throw  a  clean  ball  the 
same  clean  ball  returns  to  me.  I  am  always  re- 
ceiving my  own.  My  pure  thoughts  return  to 
bless  me  and  my  evil  thoughts  return  to  curse  me. 
I  am  receiving  just  what  I  give  and  therefore  have 
no  ground  of  complaint. 

If,  then,  I  am  suffering  from  painful  conditions 
I  must  look  for  the  cause  within  myself;  and 
knowing  the  cause  I  may  find  the  remedy.  This 
is  the  mission  of  pain.  Therefore  it  is  good — not 
evil.  The  cause  and  cure  are  both  to  be  found 
within.  By  purifying  my  thought  I  shall  purify 
my  body;  by  correcting  my  thought  I  shall  cor- 
rect the  bodily  expression;  and  this  is  my 
healing.  For  my  body  always  represents  me 
faithfully. 

Regeneration  reconstructs  the  body  by  first 
reconstructing  the  soul.  For  body  is  the  soul's 
expression.  Then  if  by  a  lifetime  of  erroneous 
thinking  my  body  has  developed  inharmonious 
conditions,  its  regeneration  and  purification  must 
require  time  also.  Neither  the  correction  and 
restoration  of  mind  or  body  can  be  accomplished 
in  a  day.  Both  require  time.  That  is  to  say: 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Regeneration  is  a  process  —  an  unfoldment  — 
not  an  instantaneous  experience.  Yet  the  Spirit's 
time  and  man's  time  are  vastly  different.  For  we 
read  that,  "  One  day  with  the  Lord  is  as  a  thou- 
sand years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day  "  (2 
Pet.  3:8).  In  other  words,  with  God  there  is  no 
time.  Therefore  regeneration  would  require  no 
time,  if  we  had  not  the  human  mind  to  deal  with, 
which  is  slow  to  grasp  things  of  Infinity. 

It  has  been  built  up  in  time,  and  can  unfold  only 
as  fast  as  it  can  comprehend  and  accept.  Regen- 
eration is  not  merely  the  correction  of  present 
thoughts ;  but  the  whole  subconscious  mind  con- 
taining all  the  stored  up  thoughts  of  the  past  has 
got  to  be  purified  and  redeemed ;  which  is  a  vast 
undertaking,  from  the  human  point  of  view. 
Nevertheless  as  we  proceed  we  shall  find  that  in 
this  work  of  the  Spirit  we  are  handling  forces 
which  are  very  potent. 

Words  which  stand  as  a  symbol  and  expression 
of  Truth,  when  spoken  with  the  realization  of 
their  meaning  and  omnipotence,  will  be  found  to 
possess  a  certain  positive,  dynamic  power  to  de- 
stroy undesirable  conditions  by  the  intensity  of 
their  vibrations ;  so  that  we  have  not  to  wait  the 

112 


THE    "FOURTH   DAY" 

slower  process  of  law  on  the  human  plane,  for  the 
undoing  of  the  past,  preparatory  to  rebuilding. 
God's  time  is  Now.  "  For  the  Word  of  God  is 
quick  and  powerful,  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword"  (Heb.  4:12),  when  it  is  spoken  in  the 
Greater  Light  of  Spiritual  Understanding.  The 
reason  our  words  are  often  barren  of  results  is, 
that  we  have  spoken  them  only  intellectually  —  in 
the  Lesser  Light ;  the  soul  has  not  spoken.  But 
in  the  natural  order  of  things —  "  first  that  which 
is  natural ;  afterward  that  which  is  Spiritual  "  — 
we  first  comprehend  the  natural  meaning  and  pur- 
port, before  we  can  receive  the  Spiritual  revela- 
tion. We  must  bring  our  words  into  the  inner 
chamber  of  the  soul,  and  baptize  them  with  the 
effulgence  of  the  Greater  Light,  before  they  are 
clothed  with  omnipotent  power. 

Then  we  can  send  them  forth  with  their  dynamic 
power  to  accomplish  results.  Only  with  words 
thus  prepared  and  empowered  can  you  speak  "  as 
one  having  authority."  They  are  words  of  Truth. 
Such  words  "  shall  not  return  to  you  void,  but 
shall  accomplish  that  which  you  please."  They 
are  the  words  of  Christ,  understandingly  spoken. 
"  It  is  not  I  that  speak,  but  the  Father  within." 

"3 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

All  power  comes  from  the  Father-fountain  within, 
—  the  Wisdom-fountain. 

Said  an  Indian  Sage :  "  No  man  ever  knew  any- 
thing by  seeking  Wisdom  without :  he  must  know 
how  to  interrogate  himself,  and  how  to  answer 
himself,  before  the  outer  universe  will  disclose  to 
him  its  hidden  arcana."  This  was  the  great  lesson 
Moses  had  to  learn  at  the  "  Burning  Bush,"  as  he 
communed  with  his  Higher  Self,  whose  name  is 
"  /  Am  "  —  Jehovah  —  Christ  —  The  Lord ;  — 
whose  word  is  authority.  There  is  a  Higher  Self, 
which  knows  all  Wisdom  and  Truth.  "  Commune 
with  your  own  heart,  and  be  still." 

"  As  I  walked  with  myself, 
I  talked  with  myself: 
Myself  said  this  unto  me : 
Make  friends  with  thyself; 
Be  true  to  thyself; 
Thyself  thy  good  angel  shall  be." 

The  "  Greater  Light  "  is  WISDOM  ;  the  "  Lesser 
Light"  is  Knowledge.  The  one  is  Divine;  the 
other  is  human.  One  is  of  Eternity;  the  other 
of  Time.  Knowledge  may  be  found  without ;  but 
Wisdom  can  be  found  only  within.  For  human 
wisdom  (so  called)  man  looks  without,  looks  to 

114 


THE    "FOURTH   DAY" 

teachers ;  consults  books,  —  external  authority. 
What  he  finds  is  Knowledge  —  not  Wisdom ;  opin- 
ion—  not  Truth.  Our  religious  teachers  have 
looked  without  for  Wisdom,  studied  church  au- 
thorities, —  the  "  traditions  of  the  Fathers,"  like 
Pharisees  of  old.  What  they  found  and  gave  was 
Knowledge  —  not  Wisdom ;  because  they  were 
guided  by  the  Lesser  Light.  As  far  as  they  were 
able  to  listen  to  the  Inner  Voice  they  received  the 
illumination  of  the  Inner  Light  of  Wisdom. 

The  Greater  Light  never  conceals  itself.  God 
never  hides  his  face.  What  the  Bible  says  about 
God  hiding  his  face  on  account  of  man's  sin  is 
metaphor,  written  to  show  the  darkening  effect  of 
sin  on  the  mind.  But  God  is  "  the  same  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  forever,"  unchanging  in  his 
steady  shining  Light.  Man  does  all  the  "  hiding," 
"  concealing,"  and  "  darkening." 

By  correspondence  Wisdom  is  the  Silver  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  stands  for  Riches  in 
general,  —  Spiritual  Riches.  Therefore,  when  we 
have  the  Spiritual  illumination,  we  have  the  con- 
sciousness of  Spiritual  opulence. 

Paul  was  speaking  of  this  opulence  in  conscious- 
ness when  he  said : 

"5 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

"  All  things  are  yours,  for  ye  are  Christ's." 
This  was  Emerson's  realization  when  he  said : 

«'  I  am  owner  of  the  sphere, 
Of  the  Seven  Stars  and  the  Solar  Year ; 
Of  Caesar's  hand  and  Plato's  brain, 
Of  Lord  Christ's  heart  and  Shakespeare's  strain." 

Of  the  false  Riches  of  error,  the  requirement  is, 
"  Sell  that  thou  hast." 

Read  the  story  of  the  "  Rich  Young  Man  "  in 
Matt.  19,  and  learn  a  beautiful  lesson  in  meta- 
physics. The  young  man  asks : 

"Good  Master,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  Eter- 
nal Life?" 

Hear  the  metaphysical  answer  of  the  Great 
Metaphysician : 

"  Sell  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the  poor,  and 
thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven."  This  is 
purely  a  metaphysical  lesson. 

For  we  are  not  allowed  to  apply  it  to  any  one 
materially,  because  the  command  is,  "  Judge  not, 
that  ye  be  not  judged."  But  as  a  metaphysical 
statement  it  applies  to  all.  For  there  is  Spiritual 
buying  and  selling,  and  we  are  engaged  in  both, 
and  must  be. 

116 


THE    "FOURTH    DAY" 

Solomon  said,  "  Buy  the  Truth  and  sell  it  not." 

Of  course  this  is  strictly  metaphysics  and  noth- 
ing else.  So  with  the  parable. 

Truth  is  the  True  Riches  —  the  true  Coin  of  the 
Realm. 

Error  is  the  false  Riches  of  the  realm  of  Illusion. 

The  price  we  pay  for  Truth  is  Experience  — 
thought-experience. 

Experience  is  the  price  paid  for  Dur  present 
state  of  mind  or  consciousness  —  for  any  state  of 
consciousness.  And  we  hold  to  or  value  our 
acquisitions,  whether  material,  intellectual,  or 
Spiritual,  in  proportion  to  the  greatness  of  the 
price  paid. 

For  our  present  consciousness  of  error  and  sin 
we  have  paid  a  great  price  —  a  whole  life-time  of 
false  thought,  buying  false  riches.  This  is  why 
we  cling  to  it  so  tenaciously,  and  refuse  to  part 
with  it  by  repentance  —  refuse  to  "  sell  what  we 
have,"  as  we  are  required  to  do.  We  cannot  enter 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  until  we  have  "  sold 
out"  this  entire  false  consciousness,  —  and  this  is 
repentance.  Thus  we  become  "  the  poor  in  spirit," 
who  are  "  Blessed,"  because  only  by  becoming 
"  poor  "  as  to  the  false  riches  can  we  fully  desire, 

117 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

or  be  receptive  to,  the  True  Riches.  This  experi- 
ence of  poverty  and  the  consequent  new  opulence 
places  us  in  position  to  "  give  to  the  poor"  —  to 
give  of  the  New  Riches  to  those  who  have  become 
"the  Lord's  poor"  —  "poor  in  spirit,"  whose  is 
"the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Have  you  found  the  "  Greater  Light "  of  Spirit- 
ual Truth,  which  is  the  Silver  of  the  Kingdom  — 
the  "  True  Coin  of  the  Realm  "  ?  If  not,  "  sell  that 
thou  hast  "  of  the  accumulations  of  falsity  —  then 
"  Buy  the  Truth,  and  sell  it  not." 

"  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  Me  gold  tried  in  the 
fire,  that  thou  mayst  be  rich,  and  white  raiment, 
that  thou  mayst  be  clothed,  that  the  shame  of  thy 
nakedness  do  not  appear,  and  anoint  thine  eyes 
with  eye  salve,  that  thou  mayest  see."  —  Rev.  3  : 
1 8. 


118 


THE  "FIFTH   DAY." — THOUGHT   AND  EXPRESSION 

"  And  God  said,  '  Let  the  Waters  bring  forth  abundantly 
the  moving  Creature  that  hath  Life,  and  Fowl  that  may  fly 
above  the  Earth  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven.' "  —  Gen. 
i  :  20. 

THIS  Chapter  treats  of  the  Creative  Power  of 
Thought. 

According  to  this  Allegory  the  origin,  source, 
and  beginning  of  all  action  and  manifestation  is 
the  Divine  THOUGHT  with  purpose,  expressed  by, 
"  GOD  SAID,"  —  put  in  execution  by  the  Divine 
WILL,  expressed  by,  "  Let  it  be  done" 

Mind  is  the  Creator  of  the  Idea,  and  Will  is  the 
executive  Power,  which  executes  the  Divine  Pur- 
pose ;  that  the  Divine  Thought  may  be  visibly  ex- 
pressed. This  is  the  universal  order  of  mental 
action,  as  tersely  pictured  in  this  unique  allegory. 

Infinite  Mind  is  thus  the  Great  "  First  Cause  " 

and  Origin  of  all  things.     Whence  it  follows,  that 

119 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

all  causation  is  primarily  mental.  For  back  of  all 
existences  is  the  Eternal  Logos ;  and  back  of  the 
Logos  is  Infinite  Mind,  the  Great  First  Cause. 
Indeed,  back  of  all  forces  of  every  description  is 
the  Divine  Consciousness,  infinite  in  thought 
power ;  co-existent  and  co-infinite  with  the  Eternal 
WILL.  From  this  Wisdom-Will  proceeds  the 
Logos-Thought  clothed  with  infinite  possibilities, 
because  backed  up  by  the  Infinite  Personality,  — 
Consciousness-WlLL. 

Now,  since  Man  is  a  Son  of  God,  the  Human 
Mind  follows  the  Divine  order,  though  finite  in 
its  conceptions  and  power, — yet  having  infinite 
possibilities  before  it,  by  reason  of  its  Divine 
origin. 

The  unfoldment  of  the  Human  Mind  and  Con- 
sciousness is  the  great  theme  of  this  Genesis  Sym- 
bology;  in  which  the  "Great  Deep"  represents 
Formless  Mind  (necessarily  the  human  mind), 
and  its  "  waters "  represent  Thoughts.  Bearing 
this  in  mind,  namely,  that  throughout  the  Word, 
Seas,  waters,  rivers,  clouds,  etc.,  all  represent  some 
phase  or  principle  of  mind,  we  shall  have  one 
point  clear  for  arriving  at  the  symbology  under 
which  Spiritual  Truth  is  expressed. 

120 


THE    "FIFTH   DAY" 

Form  is  an  inherent  attribute  of  thought. 
Thought,  being  definite,  is  a  thing  of  form.  It  is  a 
definite  thing,  created  out  of  the  Infinite  Formless 
—  or  Unmanifest.  For  in  the  (suppositional) 
"  beginning "  there  is  no  form ;  everything  is 
"  without  form  and  void ;  "  until  from  the  Divine 
Consciousness  the  Eternal  Will  decrees,  "  Let 
there  be  Light."  The  consequent  result  follows : 
"  There  was  Light." 

The  Infinite  Will  and  Consciousness  constitute 
the  Divine  Personality,  or  Individuality,  in  which 
all  Attributes  are  contained. 

God  is  personal  in  the  sense  of  individual  Con- 
sciousness and  Will;  but  impersonal  in  the  sense 
of  bodily  form  — unless  forsooth  all  forms  in  the 
universe  are  his  infinite  personality. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  word  "  person "  comes 
from  persona,  a  mask,  —  primarily  referring  to  the 
mask  worn  by  actors,  to  make  them  represent 
what  they  were  not.  The  "  persona  "  hid  the  real 
man ;  and  the  "  mask  "  represented  the  false  man. 
Therefore  what  we  call  the  person  is  not  the  Real 
Man,  but  only  the  mask-man,  or  false  man,  whom 
the  human,  undeveloped  man  calls  real ;  because 


121 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

there  is  "  darkness  on  the  face  of  the  Deep,"  not 
yet  overcome. 

When  we  say  that  thought  is  a  thing  of  form, 
we  do  not  necessarily  mean  shape,  but  mode  or 
state  of  being  primarily;  which  eventually  becomes 
manifest  in  ultimate  expression  in  shape. 

Therefore  Thought,  sent  forth  by  the  Eternal 
Energy  of  the  Wisdom-Will  is  formative  and  crea- 
tive. "  Through  faith  we  understand  the  Worlds 
were  framed  by  the  Word  of  God."  —  Heb.  11:3. 
In  the  Creative  process  the  Divine  Idea  is  the 
Spiritual  Germ,  the  living  "  Monad  "  of  Leibnitz 
and  Plato,  the  creative  "  Logos  "  of  Philo  and  St. 
John,  —  the  biological  Entity  forever  seeking  its 
etheric  protoplasm,  where  it  may  find  expression 
in  visible  form  after  its  own  likeness.  The  biolog- 
ical nature  and  creative  power  is  not  only  charac- 
teristic of  God's  thought,  but  of  all  thought. 
Because  they  are  "living  Creatures  "  of  the  mind, 
they  have  existence,  and  therefore  continue  to 
live.  Biology  is  the  universal  Creative  Way. 

Thought  derives  its  energy  and  creative  vibra- 
tion from  the  conscious  Will,  which  sends  it  forth. 
This  vibrative  Energy  molds  the  Protoplasmic 
Ether-Substance;  and  visible  form  is  the  conse- 


THE    "FIFTH    DAY" 

quent  Creation.  For  Idea  expresses  itself  in  form, 
the  material  expression  of  which  it  derives  from 
the  etheric  matrix  in  which  it  is  conceived. 

The  True  Self  is  Divine  —  a  Son  or  "  Spark  of 
Divinity  "  — possessing  infinite  potentialities,  which 
tke  individual  is  to  bring  forth  into  expression. 
For  man  is  a  threefold  being  —  Spirit,  Soul,  and 
Body ;  and  these  three  are  one  —  a  trinity  in 
unity. 

Body  has  form  of  material  visible  to  the  phys- 
ical sight ;  Soul  has  form  of  finer  material,  invisible 
to  the  physical  sight  but  visible  to  the  psychic 
sight ;  Spirit  is  the  Divine  Entity,  whose  form  is, 
not  shape,  but  "  state  of  being,"  invisible  either  to 
physical  or  psychic  sight,  and  visible  only  to  God 
and  every  Son  of  God.  Only  Spirit  can  cognize 
Spirit. 

This  is  the  Spiritual  Man,  the  True  Self,  the 
Ego  ; —  the  Man  of  Divine  lineaments  —  the  "  Like- 
ness of  God,"  —  whom  he  pronounced  "  Very 
Good."  This  True  Self  is  the  "  Son  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,"  who  is  always  in  harmony  with, 
and  always  "working  together  with  God."  What 
the  aspiring  human  being  must  do,  in  order  to 
unfold  his  potentialities,  is  to  recognize  and  be- 

123 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

come  conscious  of  this  Higher  Self.  In  this  way 
may  the  Soul  unfold  Divinity  in  Consciousness. 

This  is  the  way  to  form  our  high  Ideals.  This 
is  the  "mount"  where  the  heavenly  vision  is 
given,  where  the  "  pattern  "  for  all  our  creations  is 
"  shown."  And  here  we  hear  the  command  :  "  See 
thou  make  all  things  according  to  the  pattern 
shown  in  the  mount." 

Our  work  in  Spiritual  unfoldment  is,  to  become 
consciously  what  we  are  potentially, —  to  express 
in  externals  what  we  are  in  our  Inmost  Being  — 
the  True  Self. 

Man  is  finite  in  consciousness,  because  he  has 
not  unfolded  his  infinite  possibilities.  As  the 
"  Great  Deep  "  is  an  infinite  expanse,  so  mind  is  a 
free  expanse  omnipresent :  —  not  like  the  body 
limited  to  the  dimensions  of  the  physical  form,  — 
but  really,  though  not  consciously,  omnipresent, 
and  making  the  body  the  centre  of  its  operations. 
Wherever  your  thought  is,  there  in  the  boundless 
expanse  you  are  functioning,  whether  in  your 
chamber  or  in  distant  countries.  You  belong  to 
the  universe,  and  the  universe  belongs  to  you. 

You  are  here  to  unfold  the  consciousness  of  your 
infinity.  For  what  you  are  conscious  of,  that  you 

124 


THE    "FIFTH   DAY" 

become.  We  speak  of  "  Infinite  possibilities  "  for 
man.  This  implies  that  it  is  possible  for  you  to 
become  conscious  of  your  omnipresence,  omni- 
science, and  omnipotence. 

Prophets  and  Seers  are  men  who  have  made 
somewhat  of  these  attainments.  They  have  con- 
sciously gone  to  distant  countries  and  seen  and 
reported  what  was  actually  taking  place  there, 
while  sitting  in  their  chambers.  Swedenborg  had 
many  such  experiences.  He  even  went  into  the 
highest  heavens,  and  held  converse  with  the  angels. 
St.  Paul  was  "  caught  up  into  the  Third  Heaven, 
and  heard  unutterable  things."  So  real  was  the 
experience  that  he  said  of  it,  "  whether  in  the 
body  or  out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell;  God 
knoweth." 

Of  this  universal  mind-expanse  Emerson  said : 
"  There  is  One  Mind  common  to  all  men ;  and 
each  man  is  an  inlet  to  the  same  and  to  all  the 
same." 

When  we  come  to  know  the  Higher  Self —  that 
we  are  indeed  Sons  of  God  —  we  shall  begin  to  un- 
derstand that  we  "  live  and  move  and  have  our 
Being  in  God,"  who  is  Omnipresent  Spirit;  that 
living  in  the  Omnipresence,  we  draw  on  the  whole 

125 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

fountain  for  all  our  needs ;  because  Sons  of  Omni- 
presence we  are  "  an  inlet  to  the  same  and  to  all 
the  same." 

".Son  thou  art  ever  with  Me,  and  All  that  I 
have  is  thine."  Lu.  15  :  31.  There  is  absolutely 
no  limit  to  the  possibilities  of  realization,  except 
what  we  have  prescribed  for  ourselves.  God  has 
not  circumscribed  his  Son  with  limits.  Walt  Whit- 
man, seeing  this,  exclaimed :  "  From  this  hour  I 
decree  myself  loosed  of  limits  and  imaginary  lines, 
my  own  master,  total  and  absolute." 

"  Let  the  Waters  bring  forth  the  moving  Creature 
that  hath  Life." 

This  expresses  the  law  of  action  for  Creative 
Mind.  Since  all  causation  is  primarily  in  mind, 
active,  living,  creative  mind  has  power  to  generate 
active,  living  thoughts.  Wherefore  Thoughts  are 
active,  living  entities, —  not  dead  things, —  "Crea- 
tures that  have  Life."  Thoughts  do  not  perish. 
Living  Mind's  creations  are  not  still-born.  Dead 
things  are  not  born  of  the  living. 

Since,  then,  thoughts  do  not  perish,  but  live  in 
the  ether  about  us,  there  must  be  a  World-Con- 
sciousness, corresponding  to  the  individual  Con- 


126 


THE   "FIFTH   DAY" 

sciousness,  yet  larger  and  all-comprehensive  of 
human  thought. 

This  is  the  world  to  be  redeemed  through  indi- 
viduals coming  into  the  Christ-Consciousness,  that 
they  may  become  Light-bearers  to  the  World- 
Consciousness.  "  I  Am  the  Light  of  the  World  " 
(World-Consciousness)."  The  "  Christ  must  be 
lifted  up  "  in  this  World-Consciousness  for  its  re- 
demption, —  lifted  up  by  every  individual  who 
receives  the  Christ  illumination. 

This  World-Consciousness  is  a  World-Phono- 
graph, from  which  the  rank  and  file  of  humanity 
draw  their  inspiration,  and  into  which  they  are 
pouring  their  thoughts.  And  it  is  quite  possible 
that  a  "  sensitive  "  may  from  this  World-phono- 
graph reproduce  the  speech  of  an  Ingersoll,  a 
Beecher,  or  a  Brooks,  marked  with  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  those  personages ;  while  they  them- 
selves may  be  far  beyond  the  reach  and  plane  of 
those  who  think  they  are  receiving  a  communica- 
tion from  them.  This  is  the  psychic  plane. 

If  Infinite  Mind  is  the  great  Creative  power  and 
source  of  all  power,  what  part  does  the  human 
mind  play?  It  is  like  the  local  dynamo,  which 
receives  its  electric  power  from  the  Central  Dy- 

127 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

namo,  without  which  it  is  entirely  powerless.  Yet 
a  wheel  in  the  local  factory  cannot  move  without 
the  local  dynamo.  Each  is  dependent  on  the 
other.  To  the  creations  of  the  factory  it  is  as  if 
the  local  dynamo  were  the  only  power.  Yet  its 
efficiency  depends  absolutely  on  its  continuous 
and  perfect  connection  with  the  great  Central. 

What  is  eternally  created  in  Infinite  Mind  must 
be,  as  it  were,  recreated  by  the  human  mind,  act- 
ing in  free  deliberation  as  though  everything  de- 
pended on  itself.  Yet  when  the  human  maintains 
its  conscious  connection  with  the  Infinite,  its  ac- 
tion and  power  will  be  in  perfect  accord  with  the 
Infinite ;  and  its  creations  will  be  the  more  perfect 
and  God-like ;  because  only  thus  can  the  finite 
realize  that  "  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  me  to  will 
and  to  do." 

Man  is  the  containment  or  compendium  of  the 
whole  Creation.  He  is  the  Microcosm ;  and  re- 
creates what  God  has  Spiritually  created ;  thus 
making  his  world  within  as  perfect  as  the  Macro- 
cosm without. 

For  in  him  all  has  been  in-folded  —  all  Divine 
ideas,  the  whole  creation  —  all  potentialities.  Oth- 
erwise he  would  have  no  power  of  development; 

128 


THE    "FIFTH    DAY" 

he  could  unfold  nothing.  "  Thou  couldest  have 
no  power  .  .  .  except  it  were  given  thee  from 
above,"  the  source  of  all  power.  The  local 
dynamo  can  do  nothing,  except  it  be  given  it 
from  above,  —  except  there  be  a  power  back  of 
itself. 

Man  is  the  local  dynamo,  «#-folding  what  has 
already  been  ///-folded.  He  is  always  "  working 
together  with  God."  He  is  working;  yet  it  is 
God  working ;  He  is  creating  ideas ;  yet  all  ideas 
have  been  eternally  created,  —  they  are  eternal. 
"  There  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun."  Then 
whatever  appears  in  manifestation  eternally  was, 
or  more  properly,  eternally  is.  Then  we  must 
conclude  that  creation  has  always  been,  and  that 
Man  has  always  been;  because  God  has  always 
been. 

God  and  his  creation  —  Mind  and  Idea  —  are 
co-eternal.  Each  implies  the  other,  and  is  the 
necessity  of  the  other.  Therefore  Creation,  in- 
cluding Man,  is  God's  necessity.  Without  thought 
Mind  would  not  be  mind.  So  without  Man 
(Mind's  Idea)  God  could  not  be. 

It  is  equally  true  of  finite  mind  that  it  must  ex- 
press its  idea.  For  thought  ever  seeks  its  expres- 

129 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

sion;  which  may  appear  in  (symbolic)  words  or  in 
bodily  conditions.  In  my  microcosmic  world  all 
my  thoughts  are  manifested  or  expressed  in  my 
body;  so  that  my  body  represents  me.  I  am 
expressed  in  my  body.  "  In  Thy  Book  (my 
body)  all  my  members  are  written" — all  my 
thoughts  are  expressed. 

It  is  universally  true  that  "  without  the  word 
was  not  anything  made ;  "  because  Thought  is  the 
only  creative  power.  Consequently  in  my  little 
world  my  "  word  is  made  flesh "  —  my  thought 
becomes  concrete  in  flesh  —  is  expressed  in  body, 
where  every  thought  brings  forth  "  after  its  kind." 

"  Every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they 
shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment." Every  word,  whether  good  or  bad,  is 
faithfully  recorded  in  the  register  of  the  body; 
and  you  are  receiving  exact  justice  in  correspond- 
ing judgment,  according  to  the  law  of  cause  and 
effect. 

For  "  the  judgment  is  (always)  set,  and  the 
books  are  opened,  and  every  man  is  judged  out 
of  the  Book  of  (his)  life."  Every  thought  you 
send  forth  goes  on  its  mission  of  blessing  or  curs- 
ing according  to  its  quality,  the  good  word  to 

130 


THE    "FIFTH   DAY" 

bless  and  the  "idle  word  "to  curse  —  whom  but 
yourself  ?  Your  neighbor  it  cannot  harm,  unless 
he  open  his  door  to  the  evil  thought.  Fear  or 
passion  will  open  any  door  to  let  every  enemy  in. 
But  he  who  stands  firmly  in  Truth  has  no  fear  or 
danger.  "  He  is  safe  from  the  strife  of  tongues." 
"  By  thy  words  shalt  thou  be  justified,  and  by  thy 
words  shalt  thou  be  condemned."  Righteousness 
(or  Christ)  is  both  judge  and  jury,  and  your 
words  (^thoughts)  are  witnesses  against  you  in  this 
court ;  and  Impartial  Law  executes  the  righteous 
judgment  of  the  court.  Righteous  Judgment 
has  been  going  on  all  our  lives;  and  we  have  been 
reaping  the  bitter  fruit  of  our  "  idle  words  "  until 
"  the  whole  head  is  sick  and  the  whole  heart  faint," 
and  weary  with  the  burdens  we  have  imposed  upon 
ourselves,  we  seek  relief  from  sin  and  surcease 
from  sorrow.  So  bitter  is  the  fruit,  we  are  tired 
and  sick  of  sin.  In  hope  of  restoration,  harmony, 
and  peace,  we  turn  from  these  illusions  in  search 
of  Truth  as  the  remedy  for  error's  sad  outpictur- 
ing.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  inevitableness  of  the 
law  in  the  expression  of  thought  in  the  body, — 
these  sad  effects  may  be  entirely  obliterated  by 
the  corrective  power  of  Truth,  which  has  in  itself 

13* 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

omnipotent  power,  by  reason  of  its  Divine  Prin- 
ciple. Error  in  itself  has  no  power ;  it  does  not 
even  exist  in  the  realm  of  Reality ;  it  is  illusion. 
How  then  can  it  become  manifest  in  the  body? 

That  power  of  expression,  instead  of  being  in 
the  error,  is  wholly  due  to  the  creative  power  of 
mind.  If  the  individual  mind  is  so  perverted  that 
it  believes  error  to  be  truth,  its  creations  will  be 
of  a  corresponding  order,  so  that  its  manifesta- 
tions will  be  perverted  accordingly.  Indeed,  the 
entire  consciousness  is  perverted,  and  has  become 
a  sin-consciousness.  What  surprise,  that  diseases 
appear  in  expression ! 

When  you  stand  with  the  whole  mind  invigo- 
rated with  the  realization  of  Truth,  you  can  send 
forth  your  Word  of  Truth  with  great  dynamic 
power ;  which  is  due  to  a  power  intrinsic  in  Truth 
itself,  yet  dependent  on  the  mind's  realization 
of  Truth's  omnipotence.  For  the  mind  is  that 
local  dynamo,  on  which  Truth  itself  depends  for 
its  power  to  become  manifest  in  externals. 

Therefore,  your  "  Spoken  Word  "  has  very  great 
power ;  —  it  is  enough  to  raise  the  dead.  Error 
is  a  coward  in  Truth's  presence,  and  must  flee  be- 
fore it,  because  of  its  very  falsity.  Therefore,  you 

132 


THE   "FIFTH   DAY" 

may  speak  your  word  of  Truth  with  the  greatest 
assurance  of  its  success.  "  So  shall  My  Word  be, 
that  goeth  forth  out  of  My  mouth ;  it  shall  ac- 
complish that  which  I  please,  and  prosper  in  the 
thing  whereunto  I  send  it"  (Is.  55:11).  This  is 
true  of  your  word ;  because  the  speaker  is  the  "  I 
Am" — the  "I,"  the  Divine  ONE  within,  who 
always  speaks  from  the  standpoint  of  Truth. 
Truth  is  God's  Word,  whoever  utters  it ;  and  its 
power  will  be  commensurate  with  your  realization 
of  it  as  the  Omnipotent  "  Word  of  the  Lord." 

Our  difficulty  has  been,  that  we  have  not  half 
known  the  immeasurable  power  of  the  Word  of 
Truth,  when  backed  up  and  sent  forth  by  a  mind 
strong  in  Faith  and  Realization.  For  man  wields 
omnipotent  power,  when  he  knows  it,  —  when 
Faith  gives  him  the  consciousness  of  it.  With 
this  great  Faith,  which  is  "the  Substance  of 
things  "  —  Faith  that  knows  —  your  word  becomes 
a  decree.  "  Thou  shalt  decree  a  thing,  and  it 
shall  be  established  unto  thee  "(Job  22:  38). 

The  ancients  understood  the  power  of  words. 
They  said,  "  If  you  desire  agreeable  experiences, 
you  have  only  to  put  a  good  word  into  the  ether, 
and  it  will  take  care  of  itself,  and  bring  you  com- 


fort  by  and  by  with  something  agreeable  coming 
to  pass."  So  in  silence  they  diligently  sought  the 
right  word;  which  when  found  they  spoke  with 
the  vehemence  of  faith. 

Are  your  circumstances  uncomfortable  ?  Is  your 
environment  intolerable?  That  is  a  good  sign. 
Though  it  is  what  you  have  made  it,  its  intoler- 
ableness  indicates  that  you  are  outgrowing  it,  and 
are  about  to  change  it,  which  you  have  power  to 
do.  When  you  fully  deserve  a  better  environ- 
ment, your  changed  consciousness  will  express 
itself  in  a  better  one.  Learn  a  lesson  of  the  Dragon- 
fly. Up  to  a  certain  time  he  is  content  to  crawl, 
an  uncouth  grub,  on  the  bottom  of  the  pond,  in 
harmony  with  his  watery  environment.  But  after 
a  time  he  tires  of  his  limitations  and  intolerable 
bondage,  and  begins  to  aspire  to  higher  things 
and  a  freer  environment.  In  his  aspiration  he 
climbs  a  reed;  and  the  sun  splits  open  his  en- 
vironing shell,  and  he  leaps  forth  free  —  the  gor- 
geously attired  Dragon-fly,  happy  in  his  better 
environment. 

"  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive ;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you." 

What  you  fully  and  truly  desire,  you  can  have, 
J34 


THE   "FIFTH   DAY" 

if  you  know  your  power,  and  are  not  disturbed  by 
fear  and  doubt,  which  are  your  greatest  foes.  No 
matter  if  the  whole  world  seems  against  you,  and 
the  whole  trend  of  human  thought  seems  to  oppose 
your  law,  —  your  triumph  over  the  intolerable 
conditions  will  not  come  by  regarding  the  laws 
of  carnal  mind,  but  by  disregarding  and  annulling 
them.  Then  if  you  steadfastly  adhere  to  the 
higher  law  of  the  Spirit,  holding  to  the  Principle 
of  Omnipotent  Truth,  as  Jacob  wrestled  with  his 
adversary  —  in  due  time  it  will  transpire,  that 
"while  they  are  yet  speaking  I  will  hear  "  —  while 
steadfastly  claiming  your  heart's  desire  with  the 
persistency  of  a  genuine  faith,  the  transformation 
will  come.  You  bring  it  to  pass. 

"  For  though  wrong  grind  thee  small, 

And  all  depart ; 
Yet  shall  thy  world  grow  polar  to  thee, 

Slowly  taught, 
And  crystal  out  a  New  World 

Like  thy  thought." 

By  training  the  mind  to  a  habit  of  fixed  and 
steadfast  purpose,  and  with  fidelity  to  principle, 
you  have  power  to  bring  into  manifestation  in 
your  life  the  beautiful  and  desirable  things,  which 

J35 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

though  not  yet  apparent  to  the  senses  are  never- 
theless yours  already  in  the  invisible  omnipres- 
ence, only  awaiting  your  proper  mental  attitude 
and  consciousness  to  find  expression  in  tangible 
realization. 

' '  Let  the  Waters  bring  forth  the  moving  Creature  that  hath 
life,  and  fowl  that  may  fly  above  the  earth  in  the  open  firma- 
ment of  heaven." 

It  will  be  noted  that  it  is  "  the  waters  "  that 
bring  forth  both  "  the  moving  creature  "  and  the 
"  fowl."  This  is  the  language  of  both  the  Author- 
ized and  the  Douay  Versions,  and  it  is  doubtless 
the  correct  rendering,  since  this  whole  allegory 
refers  to  thoughts  and  creations  of  the  mind.  For 
Thought  creates  everything.  Indeed,  if  the  Dar- 
winian theory  be  correct  (and  it  is  only  a  theory), 
that  the  fowl  is  a  differentiation  of  the  fish,  then 
this  Genesis  statement  is  all  right,  even  in  its  lit- 
eral sense,  and  the  revisers  had  no  need  to  change 
it.  It  does  not  say  that  "  the  waters "  brought 
forth  only  fishes,  but  all  "  moving  creatures."  In 
our  mental  world  "  the  waters "  of  mind  create 
everything,  as  the  story  graphically  shows. 

In  studying  the  correspondences  of  this  allegory 
136 


THE    "FIFTH   DAY" 

we  note  that  the  "  beast  and  creeping  things " 
represent  the  passions,  sensations,  and  feelings  of 
the  flesh ;  and  "  fowl  that  fly  above  the  earth  "  are 
things  of  the  mind  — thoughts  that  soar  above  the 
plane  of  sense,  in  the  free  expanse  of  the  mind,  — 
the  greatest  of  which  are  high  aspirations  and 
ideals  which  may  correspond  to  eagles,  as  they 
have  power  to  fly  higher  than  any  other  fowl. 
Aspirations  and  Ideals  carry  us  into  the  Spiritual 
altitudes  where  we  meet  God  face  to  face. 

The  value  of  high  ideals  is  shown  in  the  experi- 
ence of  Moses  as  given  in  Exodus,  3d  chapter, 
which  is  a  picture  of  the  individual  in  the  silence 
of  meditation.  He  was  "  forty  years  "  in  the  wil- 
derness tending  sheep ;  there  he  "  led  them  to  the 
backside  of  the  desert,"  where  he  found  himself 
"  in  the  mount  of  God."  Here  God  revealed  him- 
self by  his  great  name,  "  I  Am." 

This  is  the  experience  of  every  man  who  enters 
the  path  of  Regeneration.  For  if  you  will  engage 
in  true  meditation  in  the  "  desert "  of  silence,  and 
there  care  for  and  meditate  on  your  pure,  innocent 
Spiritual  thoughts  ("tend  and  feed  your  sheep")  ; 
if  you  will  go  into  the  ultimate  extent  of  silence 
("the  backside  of  the  desert")  with  your  flocks, 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

and  stay  there  through  a  perfected  experience,  in- 
dicated by  the  symbology  of  "  forty  years," —  you 
will  suddenly  find  yourself  in  a  very  exalted  state 
("the  mount  of  God"). 

The  symbology  of  numbers  becomes  easy  of 
solution  when  we  consider  them  without  regard  to 
time  or  space.  Thus  in  the  number  "  40  "  we  have 
a  multiple  of  10  (4  x  10)  ;  4,  the  number  of  the 
square,  denotes  perfection,  and  10  denotes  All; 
then  4  x  10  denotes  a  full  and  perfected  experi- 
ence. Having  remained  in  meditative  silence 
through  a  full  and  perfected  experience  (4  X  10), 
the  Christ  reveals  himself  to  you  as  your  Higher 
Self,  whose  name  is  "  I  Am"  In  Hebrew  this  name 
is  written,  "  JHVH"  (pronounced,  Yahveh  or 
Jehovah).  Translated  it  means,  "  I  Am;  "  which 
is  the  name  of  my  Inmost  SELF, —  Divinity  within 
—  the  Son  of  God  —  Immanuel.  And  this  is 
"  The  Lord  "  of  my  world  —  the  CHRIST  ;  who  may 
be  found  within  only, — "  Lo !  I  am  with  you 
always." 

When  Moses  received  his  illumination  ("  Burn- 
ing Bush  ")  and  the  revelation  of  God  as  "  I  Am," 
at  once  he  was  clothed  with  a  wonderful  power, 
sufficient  to  defy  the  power  of  Egypt,  and  deliver 

138 


THE    "FIFTH   DAY" 

a  vast  army  of  Israelitish  slaves  from  severest 
bondage,  and  restore  them  to  their  "  promised 
land." 

Though  history,  this  must  be  treated  as  alle- 
gory, iu  looking  for  its  Spiritual  meaning. 

Accordingly  from  time  immemorialjour  Spiritual 
Thoughts  (Children  of  Israel)  have  been  under  the 
domination  of  Carnal  Mind  (Egyptian  bondage). 
That  bondage  has  been  so  galling  that  we  "  cry  to 
God  by  reason  of  the  taskmasters." 

When  through  Spiritual  perception  (Moses)  we 
discern  God  within  ("I  Am"),  we  shall  awake 
and  arise  in  our  Divine  might, —  conscious  of  our 
Divinity, —  and  shake  off  these  shackles,  and  find 
the  freedom  of  the  Sons  of  God.  It  is  always  the 
"  Son  of  God  "  who  makes  us  free.  Only  within 
can  you  find  him  —  and  his  name  is  "  I  AM." 

Our  recognition  of  God  must  be  through  our 
Consciousness.  For  God  is  Consciousness,  or  rather, 
God-Consciousness.  In  order  to  fully  know  God 
we  must  become  God- Conscious.  Therefore  the 
"  Memorial  Name"  is  "  I  Am." 

Elijah's  power,  well-nigh  omnipotent,  in  the  an- 
nihilation of  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  prophets  of 
Baal  and  the  four  hundred  prophets  of  Astarte  by 

139 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

one  herculean  effort,  symbolically  portrays  my  own 
power  to  destroy  sensuality  from  my  heart.  For 
Baal  and  Astarte  are  the  Sex  Gods,  whose  prophets 
are  legion. 

That  which  receives  your  heart's  best  love  and 
devotion  is  your  God.  When  the  heart's  love  is 
bestowed  upon  sex-sensuality,  you  are  a  worship- 
per of  Baal  and  Astarte,  and  have  departed  from 
the  true  God. 

Such  a  case  is  well-nigh  hopeless,  until  Elijah 
arises  in  the  mind.  For  Elijah  (Elijahu)  means, 
My  God  is  I  Am.  When,  therefore,  I  awake  to 
the  consciousness  that  I  Am  is  my  God,  then  I  am 
Elijah,  and  can  manifest  the  power  of  Elijah  to 
righteously  determine  who  has  the  supreme  rights 
and  authority,  these  Gods  of  sense  or  the  Divine 
ONE  within.  With  this  high  consciousness  at- 
tained by  communion,  I  may  demonstrate  this 
power,  and  by  one  fell  swoop  clean  out  these 
Augean  impurities,  and  rid  my  heart  of  sensuality 
through  the  realization  that  —  shall  I  say  it?  —  "  I- 
Am-God  "  —  "  My  God  is  I  Am."  O  if  we  could 
only  get  rid  of  that  old  primitive,  childish  concep- 
tion of  a  personal  God  (in  the  human  sense),  and 
find  the  Omnipotent  ONE  always  with  us,  in- 

140 


THE   "FIFTH   DAY" 

separable  from  us,  we  would  have  little  trouble  in 
demonstrating  holiness  and  health.  Developing 
our  omnipotence  through  knowing  God,  we  be- 
come Elijah,  and  can  thwart  the  base  designs  of 
"  Jezebel,  that  wicked  woman  " —  the  Carnal  Con- 
sciousness. I  am  always  the  King  of  Israel,  ruling 
righteously  or  unrighteously,  and  always  receiving 
the  consequences. 

In  saying  that  God  is  within,  we  are  not  saying 
that  the  whole  of  God  is  within ;  but  that  our  con- 
ception is  there  —  in  consciousness.  For  back  of 
my  own  "  I  Am  "-Consciousness  (the  Son)  is 
the  great,  Eternal,  Universal  "  I  Am-that-I  Am  "- 
Consciousness  (the  Father). 

This  conception  of  God  within  gives  us  a  higher 
conception  of  our  bodies,  which  thus  become  God's 
Holy  Temple. 

"  Jesus  spake  of  the  Temple  of  his  body." 

Thus  your  body  is  God's  body.  Can  you  defile 
it  with  impure  thoughts?  Your  hand  is  God's 
hand.  Will  you  say  God's  hand  is  infirm?  Your 
eyes  are  God's  eyes.  Will  you  say  God's  eyes  are 
dim?  Your  ears  are  God's  ears.  Will  you  say 
God  cannot  hear? 

"He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear?  " 
141 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

"  He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see?  " 

Who  formed  the  ear?  Who  formed  the  eye? 
Who  but  the  Divine  "  I  Am"  within?  Who  hears? 
Who  sees?  Who  but  the  same  perfect  ONE? 
Who  can  obstruct  his  hearing  or  seeing?  —  "  Shall 
he  not  see  ?  "  —  "  Shall  he  not  hear  ?  " 

Then  the  way  to  overcome  imperfections  of 
vision  or  of  hearing  is  to  recognize  your  own 
Divinity.  Indeed,  the  way  to  overcome  every 
imperfection  is  to  recognize  who  you  are. 

Carefully  examining  the  Name  of  God  given  in 
Ex.  3  :  14,  we  find  two  Hebrew  words  used,  both 
parts  of  the  verb  Hajah  (to  be),  viz.:  For  the 
Name,  "  I  Am  "  (  Yahveh  —  Jehovah},  the  present 
tense  is  used,  Jhvh  —  I  Am.  For  the  Name,  "  I 
Am-that-I  Am,"  the  future,  Ahjh,  is  used,  thus: 
"Ahjh  ashr  Ahjh''  The  former  is  a  simple 
statement  of  Existence,  or  Being  —  "I  Am."  The 
latter  means  more  on  account  of  its  future  aspect 
—  "I  Am  He  who  is  and  is  to  be,"  —  not  like 
the  former,  limited  to  the  present,  but  reaching  to 
the  Infinite  Future  —  I  Am  He  who  is,  the  Com- 
ing, Unfolding,  Manifesting  ONE  —  Eternal  BEING. 

The  one  represents  the  Individual    Conscious- 


142 


THE   "FIFTH   DAY" 

ness ;  the  other  the  Universal  Consciousness.    The 
one  is  the  Son ;  the  other  the  Father. 

The  "  I  Am  "  is  my  own —  "  My  God ;"  the  "  I 
Am-that-I  Am  "  is  the  Universal  Father.  All  "  I 
Am  "  's  exist  in  and  by  reason  of  the  "  I  Am-that- 
I  Am."  Only  through  the  Son  ("  I  Am")  can  I 
know  the  Father  ("I  Am-that-I  Am  ").  There- 
fore, "  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father 
also."  The  way  to  the  Father  is  always  through 
the  Son,  the  Mediator.  The  great  lesson  to  be 
learned  by  the  "  Burning  Bush  "  and  "  Elijah  "  al- 
legories is  man's  actual  omnipotence,  when  think- 
ing from  the  consciousness  of  "  I  Am." 


*43 


VI 


THE  "SIXTH  DAY":  — THE  MAN  THAT  GOD 
MADE 

"And  Elohim  said,  '  Let  us  make  MAN  m  Our  Image, 
after  Our  Likeness ;  and  let  them  have  dominion  over  the 
Fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  Fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the 
Cattle,  and  over  all  the  Earth,  and  over  every  Creeping  Thing 
that  creepeth  upon  the  Earth.1  And  God  made  Man  in  his 
own  Image :  in  the  Image  of  God  created  he  him :  Male  and 
Female  created  he  them."  —  Gen.  1:26,  27. 

THIS  Chapter  treats  of  the  Crowning  Work  of 
Creation,  —  God  imaging  himself  in  Man.  In 
fact,  everything  in  the  universe  images  God  in  a 
certain  degree ;  but  Man  is  the  highest  expression, 
His  Crowning  Work.  In  the  two  first  Chapters 
Moses  gives  us  a  double  symbolic  picture  to  repre- 
sent Man  in  his  dual  nature. 

Apparently  there  are  two  separate  accounts 
alternating  throughout  the  first  eleven  Chapters, 
the  one  representing  the  Spiritual  or  Real  Man, 

and  the  other  the  Natural  or  Unreal.     The  two 

144 


THE   "SIXTH   DAY" 

are  as  unlike  as  the  two  natures  are ;  yet  they  be- 
long together,  as  the  two  natures  do,  and  are  quite 
inseparable.  But  we  may  separate  them,  for  the 
purpose  of  contemplating  either,  as  we  may  con- 
template either  nature  separately. 

The  key  by  which  the  two  may  be  distinguished 
and  separated  is  the  word  employed  as  the  Name 
of  God.  In  the  First  Account  it  is  Alhim 
(Elohim)  —  "God;"  in  the  Second  it  is  Jhvh 
{Jehovah} — "  Lord,"  or  Jhvh  Alhim  {Jehovah 
Elohim)  —  "  Lord  God."  Hence  students  call  the 
former  the  "  Elohistic  "  account,  and  the  latter  the 
"  Jehovistic." 

These  are  sometimes  printed  in  different  type 
on  the  same  page,  also  in  parallel  columns,  so  that 
they  may  be  readily  separated. 

The  two  are  very  unlike ;  so  that  if  we  confine 
ourselves  to  one  account  by  reading  heavy-faced 
type  only,  we  shall  get  an  entirely  different  con- 
ception of  God's  Creation,  than  if  we  read  only 
the  light-faced  type,  and  vice  versa. 

The  "  Elohistic  "  account  is  an  Ideal  Picture  to 
represent  a  purely  Spiritual  Creation,  —  its  Man 
a  Son  of  God,  whose  Likeness  he  bears,  and  whose 
Image  he  is.  No  materiality,  earthiness,  inhar- 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

mony,  sin,  curse,  or  death  are  mentioned  or  even 
hinted  at  to  mar  this  Ideal  Picture.  It  is  the  per- 
fect handiwork  of  the  Perfect  Creator,  whose  ap- 
proval it  receives. 

The  "  Jehovistic  "  account  is  a  picture  of  the 
Human  conception  of  Man  and  Creation;  which 
also  involves  the  Human  conception  of  God, — 
containing  all  the  blemishes,  crudities,  inharmonies, 
sin,  and  death. 

The  exact  origin  of  these  two  accounts  is  un- 
known ;  but  that  they  antedate  Moses  is  universally 
conceded.  No  doubt  they  are  a  part  of  the  her- 
itage of  the  Hebrews  from  their  ancient  Aryan 
ancestors,  —  the  former  coming  from  Chaldea 
through  tradition,  and  the  latter  from  Egypt,  — 
the  one  being  the  purer  presentation  of  the  orig- 
inal Aryan  story,  the  other  the  same  story  colored 
and  corrupted  by  the  peculiarity  of  Egyptian 
thought. 

The  one  represents  Man  as  seen  from  the  stand- 
point of  Divinity;  the  other  as  seen  from  the 
standpoint  of  Humanity.  The  two  allegoric  stories 
picture  to  us  the  Divine  Idea  and  the  Human  Idea 
in  contrast  and  juxtaposition. 

The  Elohistic  account  occupies  the  first  Chapter 
146 


THE    "  SIXTH   DAY" 

and  four  verses  of  the  second;  where  the  Jehovistic 
begins,  telling  the  same  story  in  formula  very 
materialistic,  continuing  to  the  fifth  Chapter. 

Here  the  Elohistic  again  resumes  the  narrative 
through  the  fifth  Chapter.  These  alternations 
continue  through  eleven  Chapters ;  after  which 
they  become  so  blended  that  they  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished only  as  occasionally  a  great  Elohistic 
Prophet  arises  to  arouse  in  the  minds  of  the  Jeho- 
vistic people  the  higher  standards  which  they  have 
forsaken. 

As  Moses  did  not  discard  either  account  we 
will  try  to  learn  the  lesson  both  have  for  us. 

Allegory,  metaphor,  parable,  etc.,  are  material- 
istic expressions  given  to  picture  to  the  receptive 
mind  Spiritual  Ideas.  For  this  is  the  only  way 
Spiritual  Ideas  can  be  expressed.  Intellect  can 
perceive  the  shadow  of  Spiritual  Truth  by  means 
of  such  cabalistic  formulae ;  and  then  with  a  due 
receptivity  may  be  led  into  the  higher  Spiritual 
Understanding. 

Looking,  then,  behind  the  letter  of  the  figure, 
we  may  see  a  Spiritual  World  of  transcendent 
beauty  and  Divine  perfection  —  everything  in  it 
being  Spiritual,  including  Man,  its  king  and  lord 

H7 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

in  full  dominion.  This  is  the  teaching  of  the  Elo- 
histic  story. 

For  the  Spiritual  is  God's  Real  Creation ;  and 
Spiritual  Man  is  the  Real  Man.  In  the  Ideal 
World  there  is  no  sin;  and  there  is  no  sinning  in 
the  Ideal  Man.  Therefore  sin  does  not  appear  in 
the  Elohistic  story.  It  only  appears  in  the  Jeho- 
vistic,  which  is  a  perversion,  corruption,  or  coun- 
terfeit of  the  Divine  Idea,  as  shown  by  the  Elo- 
histic. The  descent  of  the  pure  Soul  from  the 
Elohim  into  Matter  for  the  purpose  of  developing 
a  strong  individuality  and  personality  through 
experience,  which  necessarily  involves  mistakes 
(which  themselves  have  lessons  for  us),  seems  to 
be  what  is  pictured  by  the  Jehovistic  story.  For 
the  pure  Soul  from  the  Elohim  has  no  character 
or  worth  of  its  own  until  it  has  worked  it  out  by 
experience.  These  mistakes  involve  all  that  is 
called  sin,  and  the  Egyptian  bondage,  its  necessary 
consequence  —  from  which  we  are  now  seeking 
deliverance  through  the  experiences  of  regenera- 
tion, that  we  may  be  restored  in  consciousness  to 
our  pristine  estate. 

The  Jehovistic  story  is  unregenerate  man's  mis- 
conception of  himself,  as  seen  from  the  standpoint 

148 


THE    "  SIXTH   DAY" 

of  the  Carnal  (Egypt)  nature.  This  "  dust-of-the- 
ground "  man,  this  "  good-and-evil "  man,  this 
sinning,  dying  man  is  not  the  Divine  Idea  or  God's 
True  Creation.  It  is  rather  the  human  misconcep- 
tion of  that  Idea.  Wherefore  these  two  concepts 
are  as  far  apart  as  Truth  and  Falsity,  Spirit  and 
Matter,  Reality  and  Unreality,  with  both  of  which 
man  has  to  do.  They  represent  the  Divine  and 
Human  Ideas,  each  brought  into  expression  by 
the  same  "  Law  of  the  Lord." 

It  appears  that  the  writer  of  the  Pentateuch  has 
given  us  a  double  allegoric  picture  of  man  to  show 
the  apparent  duality  of  his  nature,  —  wherein 
appears  the  upright  perfection  of  the  Higher  Self, 
and  the  frail,  material,  sinning  "worm  of  dust"  of 
the  Lower  Self  —  the  man  of  misconceptions. 
The  higher  conception  appeals  to  his  higher 
nature,  and  the  lower  conception  to  his  lower 
nature,  because  of  the  duality  in  consciousness 
which  this  dual  story  presents. 

There  is  a  perpetual  paradox  in  our  reasoning 
concerning  man  growing  out  of  this  duality  in 
consciousness. 

Of  this  duality  in  consciousness  Emerson  says  : 
"  Underneath  the  inharmonious  and  trivial  partic- 

149 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

ulars  there  lies  a  musical  perfection,  the  Ideal 
journeying  always  with  us  —  the  heaven  without 
rent  or  seam." 

Having  the  right  and  power  of  free  choice,  our 
reason  may  lead  us  to  follow  our  Ideal  and  to 
keep  the  Higher  Self  constantly  in  view ;  so  that 
we  may  advance  toward  Divinity  by  a  conscious 
evolution  —  or  we  may  choose  to  follow  our  mis- 
conceptions, attaching  ourselves  to  the  earth 
where  we  hear  the  Law  declaring :  "  Dust  thou 
art,  and  unto  dust  thou  shalt  return." 

All  the  troubles  of  earth  arise  from  this  miscon- 
ception of  things.  As  philosophers  and  scientific 
thinkers,  we  are  seeking  to  form  the  true  concept 
of  ourselves,  in  the  hope  that  by  adhering  to 
eternal  principles  of  Truth  we  may  find  deliverance 
from  the  distresses  which  misconception  has  in- 
volved us  in,  and  attain  to  the  Divine  Conscious- 
ness; where,  consciously  Sons  of  God,  we  shall 
be  untouched  and  uncontaminated  -by  sin,  corrup- 
tion, or  death. 

The  true  Conception  is  Man  as  God  sees  him 
from  the  standpoint  of  Truth.  The  false  Concep- 
tion is  man  as  seen  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
senses. 

150 


THE    "  SIXTH    DAY" 

It  is  the  prerogative  of  Truth  to  lift  man  out  of 
the  slums,  into  which  misconception  has  cast  him, 
with  all  the  concomitants  of  sin,  sickness,  acci- 
dents, and  death;  and  through  the  transforming 
power  of  Spiritual  Ideals  lead  him  into  an  illumi- 
nated consciousness  where  only  harmony  and 
health  are  found. 

When  we  contemplate  the  great  book  of  Nature 
we  are  impressed  with  the  idea  of  a  wonderful 
order  and  plan.  And  yet  the  word  "  plan " 
seems  hardly  the  proper  word  for  Infinite  Wisdom. 
We  speak  of  God's  "  plan  "  or  God's  "  scheme  of 
salvation,"  as  though  the  Infinite  had  to  study 
and  "  scheme  "  and  "  plan  "  to  accomplish  a  diffi- 
cult task.  Omniscience  having  to  "  study  "  and 
"scheme"  and  "plan"!  Only  the  finite  needs 
to  "  plan,"  because  not  perfected  in  Wisdom. 
Therefore  what  is  called  "  God's  plan  of  Salva- 
tion "  is  simply  men's  plan, — their  idea  of  God's 
way  of  doing  things.  We  have  so  many  conflict- 
ing plans,  all  called  God's !  Omniscience  is 
universal  law.  Does  Law  plan  ?  Law  is  the  har- 
monious working  of  Omniscience.  It  is  not  a 
thing  made  and  adjusted  to  the  universe.  It  is 
rather  God  in  his  universe  living  it.  It  is  not  a 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

plan :  It  is  God,  manifesting  himself  as  Wisdom, 
Love,  and  Truth,  in  harmonious  activity. 

When  we  read  in  Gen.  2:7:  "And  the  Lord 
God  formed  man  out  of  the  dust  of  the  ground," 
it  is  equivalent  to  saying,  The  "  Law  of  the 
Lord "  brought  into  material  expression  man's 
material  Idea  of  himself. 

The  Elohistic  story  shows  the  harmonious  ex- 
pression of  the  perfect  Idea ;  and  the  Jehovistic 
the  inharmonious  expression  of  the  perverted 
Idea,  by  the  faithful  operation  of  the  same  right- 
eous "  Law  of  the  Lord."  It  is  the  perfect  Law 
of  expression  we  are  dealing  with,  which  is  just 
as  faithful  to  bring  into  expression  every  Idea, 
whether  true  or  false. 

If  your  idea  is  perfect  and  true  —  the  True 
Conception  —  its  expression  will  be  as  perfect 
and  true  as  is  the  Idea.  But  if  your  idea  is  im- 
perfect and  false  —  a  misconception  —  the  expres- 
sion must  be  as  far  from  perfection  as  is  the  Idea. 

By  the  same  impartial  Law  the  "  Good  Tree 
brings  forth  Good  fruit,  and  the  Evil  Tree  Evil 
fruit."  God  is  powerless  to  prevent  the  "  evil 
fruit "  on  the  "  evil  tree."  For  he  is  Principle 
and  Law. 

152 


THE    "  SIXTH   DAY" 

Thus  the  "  Law  of  the  Lord  "  with  exactness  of 
operation  and  impartiality  forms  man's  material 
Body  out  of  his  material  conceptions  ("  dust  of 
the  ground  ").  Not  that  God  did  this  once,  ages 
ago,  but  that  it  is  constantly  being  done  every- 
where. It  is  the  Law. 

But  after  all,  whether  we  call  this  a  Spiritual  or 
material  world ;  whether  we  call  man  a  Spiritual 
or  material  Being,  depends  on  our  conception  of 
things.  For  from  the  Elohistic  standpoint  what 
Carnal  mind  calls  the  material  world  is  really  the 
Spiritual  world  in  visible  expression,  —  misnamed 
material,  through  human  misconception. 

Human  misconception  is  forever  mistaking  the 
"  appearance  "  for  the  Reality.  But  Realities  are 
always  Spiritual  and  eternal ;  "  appearances  "  are 
transitory  and  temporal. 

By  reason  of  his  Divine  origin  Man  is,  according 
to  this  Elohistic  story,  in  his  intrinsic  substance, 
a  perfect  Spiritual  Being;  and  his  great  problem 
is,  through  the  recognition  of  the  Spiritual  Self  to 
bring  into  outward  expression  all  the  qualities  of 
the  Heavenly  Man,  —  to  bring  into  concrete  ex- 
pression what  is  potentially  true  in  his  Inmost 
Being,  until  the  two  are  one. 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

The  "  problem  of  Life "  is  not  fully  solved 
until  Regeneration  is  finished.  And  this  is  the 
demonstration  of  yourself  to  yourself — your 
Higher  Self  to  your  Lower  Self;  whereby  the 
lower  becomes  "  transformed  into  the  image  of 
the  heavenly." 

In  the  Sixth  Day  of  Creation  God  completed 
the  revelation  of  himself  to  himself  in  the  produc- 
tion of  his  perfect  Son  —  his  imaged  representa- 
tive. When,  after  all  the  Aeons  of  evolutionary 
unfoldment,  the  earth  became  ready  for  man,  the 
crowning  work  and  highest  expression  of  God,  — 
Man  appeared.  Then  was  God  able  to  behold 
himself,  as  in  a  mirror,  in  his  Creation.  His  per- 
fect Image  appeared;  which  he  saw,  and  pro- 
nounced, "Very  Good." 

Everything  in  the  universe  is  contained  in  man; 
therefore,  when  the  Creation  was  "  finished,"  Man 
had  to  appear,  that  the  Father  might  behold 
himself  in  the  Son. 

Through  correspondence  I  see,  that  I  am  creat- 
ing my  world.  This  Genesis  story  is  the  story  of 
my  own  unfoldment.  My  world  is  at  first  "  without 
form  and  void ;  "  and  would  ever  remain  so,  but 
for  "  the  Spirit  of  God  moving  upon  the  face  of 

154 


THE    "SIXTH   DAY" 

the  waters."  Through  this  Cosmic  process  my 
unfoldment  continues,  until  at  last  I  behold 
myself  in  my  perfected  Consciousness, — the 
Heavenly  Man,  the  True  Creation  of  God. 

The  end  and  object  of  my  Regeneration  is  to 
bring  into  consciousness  the  full  glory  of  my  Son- 
of-God  Self;  that  I  may  see  in  this  perfect  mirror 
that  which  exactly  meets  my  approval,  and  which 
I  therefore  pronounce,  "  Very  Good." 

This  is  a  demonstration  of  the  highest  Truth  of 
Being.  For  if  your  highest  Ideal  is  the  Real,  — 
that  you  are  a  Son  of  God,  with  every  Divine 
attribute  and  perfection,  —  then  you  ought  to  be 
able  to  realize  —  make  real  to  consciousness  — 
that  Ideal;  and  so  BE  CONSCIOUSLY  THE  GOD- 
IDEAL.  What  at  first  is  a  distant  Ideal,  becomes 
in  time  consciously  Real  —  Real-ized. 

This  is  a  demonstration  to  yourself —  not  to  an- 
other. Another  has  no  part  in  it.  All  experiences 
in  evolution  are  strictly  your  own. 

The  Gethsemanes  and  Crucifixions  are  great 
experiences  for  your  own  unfoldment.  Peter, 
James,  and  John  slept  while  the  Master  wrestled 
in'Gethsemane. 

Thus  in  the  Microcosm  the  forming  of  the  Son 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

of  God  in  you  is  the  Crowning  work  of  your  crea- 
tion, and  that  toward  which  all  previous  efforts 
have  pointed. 

In  the  correspondence  of  the  natural  with  the 
Spiritual  we  see  the  beauty  and  profundity  of 
Divine  Wisdom,  the  marvellous  Wisdom  of  the 
Divine  Order.  Besides,  it  enables  us  to  recognize 
the  Divine  Self,  which  is  always  in  touch  with 
God ;  so  that  we  may  "  ask,"  knowing  that  we 
"  shall  receive "  freely  of  the  Wisdom,  Truth, 
Strength,  and  Virtue  of  God.  The  whole  fountain 
of  Wisdom  is  continually  offering  itself;  God  is 
continually  bestowing  himself.  Every  Good  thing 
we  can  ask  for,  or  think  of,  is  eternally  given. 
Man  has  but  to  receive. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is,  Infinite  Goodness  has 
expressed  itself  in  man,  making  him  Good ;  In- 
finite Wisdom  has  made  him  Wise ;  Infinite  Life 
has  made  him  Living;  Infinite  Love  has  made  him 
Loving;  and  who  shall  limit  the  Infinite  bestow- 
ing? God-like-ness  is  the  meaning  of  "  In-our- 
Image-after-our-Likeness." 

The  Man,  whom  Elohim,  the  Father,  made  and 
pronounced  "  Very  Good,"  is  the  Man  of  God- 
like-ness;  who  eternally  abides  in  the  bosom  of  the 

156 


THE    "SIXTH   DAY" 

Father.  If  God  once  pronounced  Man  "  Good," 
the  Unchanging  ONE  must  forever  see  him  Good. 
The  Uncorruptible  Father  forever  sees  the  Son 
uncorruptible. 

It  is  because  the  Spiritual  Man  is  the  Real,  the 
Man  of  unchanging  perfection,  that  makes  him 
instinctively  rebel  at  bondage,  sickness,  and  death ; 
because  these  things  are  not  his,  and  never  be- 
longed to  this  man  of  Divine  lineage.  They  have 
been  foisted  upon  him  by  the  misconceptions  of 
the  race,  until  he  groans  by  reason  of  the  cruel 
bondage.  This  instinctive  rebellion  at  bondage 
and  oppression  is  the  Voice  of  the  Divine  Self 
asserting  himself. 

Shall  we  constantly  keep  the  false  man  in  view, 
and  be  reconciled  to  Pharaoh's  oppression?  Shall 
we  "  take  the  Name  of  God  in  vain "  by  saying, 
"It  is  God's  Will,"  or  by  calling  Carnal  Mind's 
verdict,  God's  decree?  It  is  Pharaoh's  decree,  not 
Elohim's.  Let  him  exercise  his  authority  upon 
Egyptians;  but  we  are  not  Egyptians,  that  we 
should  submit  to  this  cruel  king,  "  Mortal  Mind." 
We  are  of  a  Diviner  race  —  Sons  of  God  —  Children 
of  Israel  —  a  Spiritual  race. 

Yet  we  have,  like  the  historical  Israel,  been  sold 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

into  slavery,  —  as  Paul  says,  "sold  under  sin,"  — 
we  have  sold  ourselves.  "  Ye  have  sold  yourselves 
for  naught;  but  ye  shall  be  redeemed  without 
money  and  without  price."  (Is.  52  :  3).  But  out 
of  this  carnal-mind  bondage  our  cry  for  deliver- 
ance is  heard  in  the  innermost  of  the  soul,  where 
God  is  still  speaking  and  still  hears. 

Through  the  long  centuries,  in  ignorance  of  his 
Divine  estate,  and  under  the  illusions  of  the  mortal 
consciousness,  man  has  been  blindly  groping  his 
way,  seeking  in  materiality  for  what  he  is  conscious 
of  having  lost,  —  Perpetual  Youth.  He  is  con- 
stantly seeking  in  objectivity  for  what  cannot  be 
found  there.  The  "elixir  of  life"  and  the  "foun- 
tain of  perpetual  youth  "  men  are  ever  seeking 
and  never  finding  in  the  objective  world.  In  every 
century  some  Ponce  de  Leon  or  Pasteur  appears  in 
this  vain  search.  Yet  there  is  a  true  "  elixir  of  life  " 
and  a  true  "  fountain  of  perpetual  youth  "  all  suffi- 
cient ;  otherwise  men  would  not  be  searching  for  it. 

Instinctively  man  knows  that  perfect  life,  health, 
and  freedom  belong  to  him.  Therefore  he  believes 
in  remedies  instinctively  for  the  recovery  of  his 
lost  estate ;  and  he  flies  to  matter  for  what  does 
not  exist  there.  He  is  thirsting  for  the  "  Water 

158 


THE   "SIXTH   DAY" 

of  Life ;  "  but  seeks  it  in  "  mineral  springs,"  or  in 
the  concoctions  of  the  apothecary.  This  Living 
Fountain  is  not  to  be  found  in  matter;  for  it  is 
matter  (the  material  consciousness)  that  has  de- 
frauded him  of  the  fulness  of  the  Consciousness 
of  Life.  He  has  sought  wrongly,  because  he  has 
sought  objectively,  —  without,  for  what  can  be 
found  only  within.  If  only  man  would  stop  and 
listen,  —  learn  to  hear  and  obey  the  Inner  Voice 
of  Wisdom,  he  would  soon  find  the  "  elixir  of  life," 
and  be  able  to  drink  of  its  perennial  fountain. 
Christ  is  that  all-sufficient  Fountain.  "  The  Water 
that  I  will  give  him  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  Water 
springing  up  into  Everlasting  Life."  Finding  the 
Christ  within,  you  drink  of  the  Fountain  of  perpet- 
ual youth.  But  man — "fool  man"  —  has  lost 
the  Spiritual  Consciousness,  having  buried  it  be- 
neath the  rubbish  of  materiality.  As  Young  says : 

"  Yet  man,  fool  man  !  here  buries  all  his  thoughts ; 
Inters  Celestial  hopes  without  one  sigh  ; 
Prisoner  of  earth,  and  pent  beneath  the  moon, 
Here  centres  all  his  wishes  ;  winged  by  heaven 
To  fly  at  Infinite,  and  reach  it  there,  — 
Where  seraphs  gather  Immortality  on  Life's  fair  Tree, 
Fast  by  the  Throne  of  God." 
159 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

To  have  the  realization  of  your  Divine  estate, — 
to  know  that  it  is  even  now  your  very  own,  will 
bring  you  better  health  and  a  higher  conscious- 
ness. For  that  realization  will  be  a  Higher  Con- 
sciousness. The  glimpses  you  receive  of  your 
Higher  Self  are  foreshadowings  of  the  Higher 
Consciousness,  soon  to  be  revealed.  John  was  in 
the  Spiritual  Consciousness,  we  may  infer  from 
his  statements  of  realization.  "  Beloved,  Now  are 
we  the  Sons  of  God ;  and  it  is  not  yet  manifest 
what  we  shall  be ;  but  we  know  that  when  He 
shall  be  manifested,  we  shall  be  like  Him ;  for  we 
shall  see  Him  as  He  is." 

According  to  this  man  in  the  Cosmic  Con- 
sciousness, even  "  Now  we  are  Sons  of  God," 
—  though  we  may  not  fully  realize  all  this  means, 
nor  manifest  (because  not  realizing)  all  it  implies. 
But  the  possibilities  of  "  what  we  shall  be  "  can 
hardly  be  imagined ;  because  of  the  limitations 
of  our  faith.  "  But  we  know,  that  when  He  shall 
be  manifested  (to  consciousness)  we  shall  be  like 
Him."  That  is:  When  we  are  in  the  Spiritual 
Consciousness  we  shall  comprehend  and  under- 
stand all  things  Spiritual,  and  manifest  accord- 
ingly. 

160 


THE    "SIXTH   DAY" 

The  high  standard  is  within;  the  perfect  pat- 
tern is  there. 

It  is  the  Divine  Self — the  Immaculate  Christ. 
All  longing  for  higher  things,  all  soul  hunger, 
is  the  True  Self  seeking  recognition  and  outward 
expression. 

If  man  were  the  "  worm  of  the  dust  "  they  have 
called  him  ;  if  he  were  "  totally  depraved,"  as  his 
well-intentioned  calumniators  have  declared,  he 
could  have  no  aspiration  for  higher  things ;  the 
Spiritual  would  forever  remain  meaningless  to 
him.  There  could  be  no  evolution  toward  Di- 
vinity, unless  Divinity  had  been  first  ?«-volved. 
But  Divinity  always  within  is  constantly  seeking 
recognition  and  outward  expression.  No  man 
ever  attained  a  high  consciousness  by  a  constant 
recognition  of  his  low  estate  of  sinfulness  ;  nor  by 
putting  off  the  day  in  thinking  he  will  sometime 
become  holy,  can  he  arrive  at  conscious  Holiness. 
The  consciousness  of  Holiness,  and  its  expression 
as  wholeness  can  come  only  through  the  recog- 
nition of  it  as  a  present  reality.  For  you  are  not 
sometime  to  become  a  Son  of  God; — you  are 
Now  a  Son  of  God,  as  perfect  as  Christ. 

Your  Son-ship  is  not  a  thing  to  be  unfolded, 
161 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

but  a  thing  to  be  recognized.  The  only  trouble 
in  the  matter  is,  you  are  not  conscious  of  what 
you  are.  What  is  to  be  unfolded  is  not  your 
Divinity,  but  your  consciousness  of  it.  Divinity 
was  always  there,  but  the  consciousness  of  it  is  to 
be  gained.  The  Divine  Consciousness  is  the  great 
object  of  all  unfoldment. 

Jesus  is  called  Jesus  Christ,  because  he  ever 
lived  and  spoke  from  the  Christ-Centre  of  con- 
sciousness. Divinity  within  being  constantly  rec- 
ognized, was  constantly  gaining  a  fuller  expression ; 
until  men,  recognizing  the  expression,  called  him 
Jesus  Christ. 

You  will  never  be  able  to  express  the  higher 
powers  of  the  soul  until  you  look  beyond  the 
human  Self  you  are  so  familiar  with,  and  become 
better  acquainted  with  the  Higher  Self,  —  until 
you  recognize  this  Heavenly  Man  already  there 
in  his  full  Divinity. 

Unfoldment  is  upward,  from  the  lower  to  the 
higher.  Therefore  Paul  said,  "  The  First  Man 
(recognized)  is  of  the  earth  earthy :  the  Second 
Man  (recognized)  is  the  Lord  from  heaven." 
This  is  the  Divine  order  for  every  man's  pro- 
gression. 

162 


THE   "SIXTH   DAY" 

The  "  First  Man  "  has  been  long  in  manifesta- 
tion through  constant  recognition.  Now  our 
problem  is,  through  a  proper  Spiritual  recogni- 
tion, to  bring  into  manifestation  the  Heavenly 
Man — the  "Second  Man"  —  in  all  his  perfec- 
tion. This  is  a  matter  of  demonstration. 

Every  problem  requires  demonstration. 

You  have  lived  so  long  in  the  Human  Con- 
sciousness, that  the  True  Self  is  unknown  to  you, 
until  in  the  silence  you  discover  him. 

This  is  your  Ideal,  very  beautiful,  but  at  first 
far  away.  But  by  persistently  dwelling  on  this 
Ideal  you  bring  it  near,  until  you  make  it  real  to 
consciousness.  You  realize  your  ideal. 

As  we  have  said,  the  man  that  God  made  is  the 
Spiritual  Man,  only  whom  Elohim,  his  maker, 
knows,  and  pronounces,  "  Very  Good." 

"And  God  saw  everything  he  had  made,  and 
behold  !  it  was  very  Good." 

Only  the  perfect  meets  the  Divine  recognition 
and  approval ;  only  the  perfect  has  he  made. 

Not  only  is  this  God's  verdict  concerning  His 
Creation,  but  it  is  also  the  verdict  of  the  true  Ego, 
the  Son  of  God,  who  sees  as  God  sees,  from  the 
standpoint  of  perfection. 

163 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

But  the  Human  Ego,  seeing  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  senses,  reverses  for  himself  in  consciousness 
the  correct  verdict  of  the  Spiritual  Ego,  and  re- 
ceives himself  the  self-inflicted  penalty,  the  con- 
sequence of  his  perverted  conception  of  Truth. 
For  in  reality  Truth  can  never  be  perverted  or 
shaded  a  hair  from  its  high  standard  of  perfection. 
The  only  thing  that  is  changeable  is  our  concep- 
tion of  it.  The  effect  of  that  false  conception  is 
what  we  call  evil. 

When  we  realize  that  in  the  realm  of  Being  and 
Reality  there  is  nothing  but  God  and  his  Creation 
(which  is  his  expression),  then  there  is  but  a 
single  step  to  the  more  comprehensive  statement, 
"  There  is  nothing  but  God"  Thus  Mrs.  Wilcox 
puts  it : 

"  God  and  I  in  space  alone,  and  nobody  else  in  view : 

And  where  are  the  people,  O  Lord,  I  said, 
The  earth  below  and  the  sky  overhead ; 
And  the  dead  whom  once  I  knew? 

«'  That  were  a  dream,  God  smiled  and  said, 

A  dream  that  seemed  to  be  true. 
There  are  no  people,  living  or  dead, 
No  earth  below  or  sky  o'erhead : 
There  is  only  MYSELF  and  You. 
164 


THE   "SIXTH   DAY" 

"  Why  do  I  feel  no  fear,  I  asked, 

Meeting  you  here  this  way ; 
For  I  have  sinned,  I  know  full  well ; 
And  is  there  Heaven,  and  is  there  Hell, 

And  is  this  the  Judgment  Day? 

"  Nay,  those  were  but  dreams,  the  great  God  said, 

Dreams  that  seemed  to  be. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  Fear  of  Sin ; 
There  is  no  You  ;  you  never  have  been ; 

There  is  nothing  at  all  but  ME." 

Making  use  of  Emma  Curtis  Hopkins'  formula, 
with  slight  modification,  we  may  say : 

"  The  Divine  ONE  looking  outward,  as  it  were, 
forever  beholds  himself.  There  is  nothing  else  for 
him  to  behold.  He  sees  himself  everywhere  re- 
flected in  the  perfect  mirror  of  nature.  He  sees 
himself  in  everything  he  beholds.  The  Divine 
ONE  is  all  there  is  either  to  be  or  to  be  seen.  So 
every  way  the  Divine  One  turns  he  sees  himself. 
He  gives  his  own  quality  and  characteristics  to 
everything  he  sees.  He  is  continually  environed 
by  himself.  Conscious  only  of  Goodness,  he  pro- 
nounces everything  he  sees,  '  Very  Good.'  " 

"In  like  manner  the  True  Ego,  looking  outward, 
165 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

only  beholds  himself.  He  sees  himself  every  way 
he  turns.  Consciously  Good  himself,  he  sees  only 
Goodness  every  way  he  looks.  He  gives  his  own 
quality  and  characteristics  to  everything  he  sees. 
With  no  "  mote  "  in  his  eye  he  sees  only  perfec- 
tion every  way  he  turns.  He  sees  himself  in  a 
mirror,  and  is  reflected,  himself  to  himself,  on 
every  hand.  He  is  continually  environed  by  him- 
self. This  is  the  Man  that  God  made  —  his  per- 
fect expression ;  who  sees  as  through  the  eyes  of 
Divinity,  and  like  God  pronounces  everything  he 
sees,  *  Very  Good.' 

"  Then  we  find  that  the  False  Self,  the  Human 
Ego,  being  but  the  perverted  concept  of  the  True 
Self  or  Ego,  sees  only  himself  every  way  he  turns. 
He  gives  his  own  quality  and  characteristics  to 
everything  he  beholds.  He  sees  everybody  and 
everything  after  his  own  pattern  and  pronounces 
judgment  accordingly.  With  a  beam  in  his  eye 
he  sees  motes  in  his  brother's  eye  continually. 
He  sees  everybody  through  his  own  thought- 
spectacles,  which  color  everything  he  sees.  Con- 
scious of  sin  himself,  he  sees  the  sinner  every- 
where he  looks.  He  is  continually  environed  by 
himself. 

166 


THE   "SIXTH   DAY" 

"  Like  the  Divine  One  the  True  Ego  sees  only 
what  he  approves  and  loves  because  of  his  own 
conscious  Goodness.  But  the  Human  Ego  sees 
much  that  displeases  him  because  he  is  in  a  false 
consciousness  —  the  consciousness  of  Good-and- 
Evil.  Yet  he  has  one  sure  remedy  for  his  offend- 
ing world :  When  he  has  redeemed  himself  he 
will  find  his  world  redeemed ;  since  the  world  he 
sees  is  his  own  reflection." 


167 


SPIRITUAL    EVOLUTION 


REGENERATION 


PART    II 

FOLLOWING   THE    « SIX   DAYS "    OF   THE 
CHRIST   SYMBOLOGY 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

PART   II 

THE   CHRIST   SYMBOLOGY 

THROUGHOUT  the  Scriptures  there  is  One  Great 
Theme  running,  —  One  Great  Burden  which  its 
symbology  bears, —  One  Great  Transformation, 
which  its  allegories  picture,  and  its  histories  both 
conceal  and  reveal.  It  is  the  Great  Theme  of  the 
Prophets  and  Mystics  of  the  Ages  in  all  Religious 
Systems, — the  greatest  that  can  engage  the  hu- 
man mind ;  because  it  contains  the  secret  arcana, 
and  reveals  the  way  for  man's  unfoldment  into  his 
Divine  estate  in  consciousness.  That  One  Great 
theme  is  REGENERATION. 

That  is  the  Great  Evolution  revealed  in  the 
story  of  Creation,  as  we  have  seen.  That  is  the 
Evolution  pictured  by  the  deliverance  of  the 
"  Children  of  Israel "  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt, 

171 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

and  their  final  arrival,  after  the  purifying  "Wilder- 
ness" experiences,  into  their  "Promised  Land." 
That  is  the  Evolution  pictured  in  the  dark  and 
mystical  Book  of  "  Job,"  as  we  shall  see,  when 
once  we  have  learned  to  look  beyond  persons  and 
things,  and  see  our  own  experiences. 

In  these  and  many  other  cases  human  unfold- 
ment  through  experience  is  what  is  represented 
under  the  symbology  of  history  and  allegory. 

It  is  soul  unfoldment,  —  Spiritual  Evolution,  — 
the  growth  and  passage  from  the  material  or 
Adam-Consciousness  to  the  Spiritual  or  Christ- 
Consciousness.  In  either  of  these  mystical  alle- 
gories the  ultimate  goal  is  the  same.  The  allegory 
of  Creation  ultimates  in  the  "  Sabbath  of  Rest," 
—  the  Attainment  realized  —  Regeneration  accom- 
plished, where  all  struggle  ends,  all  labor  ceases. 
The  allegory  of  the  "  Children  of  Israel "  ultimates 
in  their  safe  arrival  in  their  Ideal  Home.  The 
great  epic  of  Job  ultimates  in  the  soul's  perfect 
restoration  through  a  true  understanding  of  God, 
whereby  we  become  transformed  in  soul,  body,  and 
estate,  and  receive  full  satisfaction  in  the  elder 
brother's  double  portion. 

We  now  turn  to  the  New  Testament  to  contem- 
172 


THE   CHRIST   SYMBOLOGY 

plate  the  greatest  symbology  written  in  any  age. 
Every  character  of  the  sacred  page  signifies  far 
more  than  the  mere  historical  life  of  that  char- 
acter. 

The  greatest  character  of  history  is  Jesus  of 
Nazareth.  As  an  individual  his  life  was  an  ideal 
one,  —  or  rather  an  Ideal  carried  into  practice  — 
realized.  That  man  may  have  an  ideal,  which 
he  may  pursue,  until  he  realizes  his  ideal,  was 
demonstrated  by  him;  that  the  way  to  unfold  the 
highest  potentialities  of  one's  Being,  the  way  to 
bring  out  Divine  qualities  and  characteristics  is 
by  pursuing  one's  Ideal,  until  it  is  realized ;  — 
thus  demonstrating  that  the  Ideal  is  the  Real. 
The  Ideal  is  the  perfect  Spiritual  "  Pattern  shown 
in  the  mount,"  which  we  should  seek  to  make  our 
own  in  practical  experience.  Living  the  Ideal 
Life  is  the  way  to  realize  our  Ideal. 

Jesus  was  the  Man  of  prophecy,  the  One  Man 
foreseen  and  pointed  to  by  all  the  Prophets  and 
Seers  of  old,  —  the  Pattern-Man,  the  Ideal-Man, 
whom  they  saw  afar  off,  and  who  in  the  fulness 
of  time  was  expressed  in  visible  form,  —  the  Ideal 
realized; — and  he  is  still  the  Ideal  Man  —  our 
Ideal,  our  Pattern  ;  whose  life  is  the  Ideal  "  Way" 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

for  the  unfoldment  of  the  highest  potentialities  of 
one's  Being,  for  the  demonstration  of  Divinity  in 
Consciousness. 

Therefore  the  meaning  of  his  life  is  more  than 
that  of  an  historical  personage.  All  the  histories 
of  the  Word  are  more  to  us  than  histories.  There 
is  always  an  allegorical  application  of  such  histo- 
ries to  human  life :  so  that  that  history  is  not  a 
thing  of  the  dead  past,  but  a  living  thing  of  the 
living  present,  a  reality  in  the  individual  conscious- 
ness. Of  all  the  allegoric  (historical)  characters 
of  sacred  history  the  greatest  and  crown  jewel  of 
them  all  is  Jesus  Christ.  That  he  lived  and  walked 
the  earth  there  is  abundant  evidence ;  though  the 
accuracy  of  the  allegoric  application  of  his  life  to 
human  experience  in  the  process  of  regeneration 
is  so  marked  as  to  lead  some  to  think  that  he  was 
not  an  historical  personage ;  but  that  the  writers 
of  the  Gospels  —  whoever  they  were  —  wrote  under 
Divine  inspiration,  using  the  form  of  history  to 
represent  the  true  course  of  Ideal  Way  for  the 
unfoldment  of  the  Christ  in  Consciousness ;  that 
"Jesus  "  represents  the  typical  Man  going  through 
all  the  experiences  of  that  unfoldment;  that  those 
allegoric  experiences,  as  in  a  human  objective  life, 

'74 


THE   CHRIST   SYMBOLOGY 

represent  the  esoteric  experiences  of  every  man  in 
the  Way  of  regeneration,  wherein  he  may  be  said 
to  pass  from  the  estate  of  the  animal-human  to 
that  of  the  Divine-human,  in  consciousness.  In 
such  a  view  the  "  Christ"  is  the  true  Ego  —  the 
Son  of  God,  which  the  "  Jesus  "  —  the  human  —  is 
seeking  to  manifest  in  consciousness,  that  he  may 
be  conscious  of  his  Divine  estate  or  Christ-hood. 
This  reveals  "  The  Way "  to  the  Christ  life  in  its 
fulness. 

All  this  may  be  strictly  true  without  denying  the 
historic  Christ.  But  admitting  its  historicity  and 
the  allegory  within  it,  that  history  at  once  assumes 
a  wonderful  importance,  —  there  is  a  Divine  plan 
in  it;  God  is  in  it,  working  along  with  man  in 
both  the  objective  and  subjective  experiences ; 
which  reveals  a  sacred  value  to  both  factors  of  a 
correspondence.  And  this  must  be  true  of  all 
Bible  histories  and  prophecies.  God  is  in  every 
stage  of  human  evolution  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest. 

Every  great  unfoldment  proceeds  according  to 
the  Cosmic  order,  having  "  six  periods,"  "  six 
steps,"  or  "  six  days  "  in  its  evolution  ;  the  seventh 
representing  finished  work  —  the  Ideal  realized. 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Hence  in  the  Spiritual  interpretation  of  Scripture 
the  number  seven  always  means  completion  — 
the  attainment.  For  there  is  a  Spiritual  sense  of 
numbers,  as  well  as  histories  and  allegories,  to 
be  understood.  This  being  true,  we  may  expect 
to  find  in  the  story  of  the  life  of  Jesus  something 
to  show  that  its  mystical  writers  followed  the 
mystic  order, —  that  this  mystical  life  had  its  "  six 
days"  also. 

The  story  of  the  "  Transfiguration,"  in  Mat.  17 
and  Mark  9,  is  a  unique  symbolic  vision,  pregnant 
with  Spiritual  meaning,  like  the  visions  of  John  in 
the  Apocalypse ;  and  the  same  John  was  one  of 
the  three  who  had  this  vision,  in  which  the  Christ 
is  the  central  figure, —  fulfilling  the  law  (Moses) 
and  the  Prophets  (Elijah), —  as  the  Christ  is  the 
essential  Principle  of  both  the  Law  and  the  Proph- 
ets,—  in  both  factors  of  the  correspondence. 

Every  item  and  incident  of  this  vision  has  a 
mystical  meaning. 

"  After  six  days  Jesus  taketh  Peter,  James,  and  John, 
his  brother,  and  bringeth  them  up  into  a  high  mountain 
apart,  and  was  transfigured  before  them :  and  his  face  did 
shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light  " 
(Mat.  17  :  I,  2). 

176 


THE   CHRIST   SYMBOLOGY 

The  first  thing  that  catches  our  attention  is  the 
"  Six  Days  "  in  the  beginning  of  the  narrative. 
The  allegoric  nature  of  the  record  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons  Bible  students 
find  so  much  difficulty  in  determining  the  chrono- 
logical order  of  events  in  that  mystical  life.  If  we 
spend  our  time  hunting  for  the  chronology,  we 
shall  miss  the  great  lesson  of  the  life.  In  fact,  we 
must  eliminate  Time  and  Space  from  the  account, 
so  that  the  experience  may  be  Now  and  Here, — 
"  nigh  thee  and  in  thy  heart." 

With  Time  eliminated  the  chronology  ceases  to 
have  any  value.  The  Spiritual  is  Now  and  HERE 
always. 

The  "  Six  Days"  of  the  Mosaic  symbology  are 
the  "six  periods"  or  "Six  degrees  of  Initia- 
tion," for  the  Neophyte,  before  he  arrives  at  the 
perfect  state  of  Illumination,  symbolized  by  the 
"  Sabbath." 

What  that  symbology  pictures  to  the  mind  is 
more  graphically  pictured  by  the  higher  symbol- 
ogy of  the  greater  allegory  of  the  life  of  the 
greatest  man  of  history;  which  has  the  same  "  Six 
Days  "  to  represent  the  same  "  Six  Steps  "  or  "  Six 
Degrees  of  Initiation  "  in  the  unfoldment  of  the 

177 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Christ  in  Consciousness ;  "  until  we  arrive  at  the 
fulness  of  Christ." 

This  is  the  interpretation  of  the  first  point  in  the 
great  allegoric  vision  of  the  Transfiguration.  For 
our  present  purpose  this  point  is  all  we  need  to 
mention;  though  it  might  be  profitable  to  trace 
the  symbolism  of  the  whole  vision. 

In  the  six  Chapters  following  we  shall  endeavor 
to  show  the  "  Six  Steps "  in  the  Christ-Way  of 
Regeneration, —  "  I  AM  the  WAY." 

We  hope  to  be  able  to  make  that  wonderful 
WAY  so  clear  in  its  every  "  step,"  that  others  may 
be  able  to  follow  "  The  Way,"  finding  the  Master's 
"  Steps,"  and  walking  in  them. 

Said  Victor  Hugo :  "  Religion  is  a  translation 
of  God  proportioned  to  the  amount  of  soul  that  is 
within  you."  Therefore  the  unfoldment  of  Religion 
in  the  Soul  works  the  unfoldment  of  the  soul  by  a 
larger  "translation  of  God"  to  the  human  Con- 
sciousness. 


178 


VII 

THE    FIRST    STEP :  —  THE    IMMACULATE 
CONCEPTION   AND    BIRTH 

"Except  a  man  be  born  from  above,  he  cannot  see  the 
Kingdom  of  God."  —  John  3:3. 

THE  great  problem  for  every  man's  solution  is 
"the  Problem  of  Life ;  "  the  great  Object  of  search 
is  Satisfaction;  the  great  Attainment  to  make  is 
the  Divine  Consciousness, — which  is  the  "Chief 
End  of  Man."  Happy  is  he  who  wisely  enters 
early  upon  this  solution,  who  early  begins  this 
search,  and  studiously  strives  to  gain  this  high 
attainment,  —  an  attainment  which  in  the  Eternity 
of  Eternities  each  one  will  sometime  work  out  for 
himself.  It  is  every  one's  own  problem,  which 
another  cannot  solve  for  him. 

"  Work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling"  (Phil.  2:  12). 

It  shall  be  the  burden  of  the  Six  Chapters  fol- 
lowing to  make  clear  the  CHRIST-WAY  for  the 

179 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

solution  of  the  Great  Life  Problem,  for  the  finding 
of  Satisfaction,  and  the  attainment  of  the  Divine 
Consciousness,  according  to  the  greater  Light  of 
the  New  Testament  as  it  is  revealed  by  the  won- 
derful symbolic  life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  by  Six 
well-defined  Steps,  shown  in  that  striking  symbolic 
picture,  called  "The  Transfiguration"  (Mat.  17)  ; 
whose  "  Six  Days  "  are  the  Six  Steps  in  the  evo- 
lution of  the  Christ  in  Consciousness.  For  Jesus 
is  the  Representative  Man  of  the  Ages,  the  Great 
Type-Man  for  all  time,  our  Living  Parable  and 
Allegory  of  Life,  —  our  WAY  to  the  highest  Con- 
sciousness —  "I  AM  the  WAY." 

The  meaning  and  purpose  of  that  Great  Mysti- 
cal Life  is,  to  show  by  the  demonstration  of  expe- 
rience the  WAY  for  the  unfoldment  of  the  CHRIST 
in  Consciousness. 

Therefore  "  The  Way  "  of  his  earthly  life  stands 
to  us  as  an  objective  picture  to  indicate  our  Spir- 
itual Way  to  that  Great  Unfoldment,  the  highest 
experience  for  men,  —  Spiritual  Illumination, — 
a  transformed  Consciousness,  —  the  Resurrected 
Life,  —  the  Christ-Consciousness;  —  and  by  the 
necessity  of  natural  law,  a  transformed  body. 

This  "  Way  "  is  the  evolutionary  process,  called 
180 


THE    FIRST   STEP 

Regeneration,  —  available  to  every  man  who  will 
seek  it. 

But  what  is  Regeneration?  It  is  the  Conception, 
Birth,  and  Unfoldment  of  the  Divine  IDEA  or 
CHRlST-Principle  in  the  Consciousness  of  Man, 
until  it  has  wrought  the  purification  and  transfor- 
mation of  the  whole  man,  soul  and  body,  making 
him  in  consciousness  a  "  New  Creation  in  Christ 
Jesus." 

In  the  Six  First  Chapters  we  followed  the  same 
Six  Steps  to  the  same  end  under  the  symbolism 
of  the  Story  of  Creation,  which  had  its  culmina- 
tion or  completion  in  the  "  Seventh  Day,"  "  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God,"  representing  an 
Illuminated  Consciousness  in  Realization,  or  per- 
fect Salvation  in  the  attainment  of  the  Spiritual 
Consciousness. 

Every  man  is  seeking  Satisfaction,  whether  he 
follow  the  quest  of  wealth,  honor,  or  fame  ;  whether 
he  plunge  into  dissipation,  sensuality,  or  crime. 
He  is  always  after  the  sweet  boon  of  Satisfaction. 

Though  in  numerous  ways  men  seek  and  never 
find  it,  still  there  is  one  sure  way  to  satisfaction, — 
the  Christ-Way,  —  "  7  Am  the  Way." 

Only  Christ  brings  to  the  heart  perfect  satisfac- 
181 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

tion.     Christ  is  the  all-satisfying  Good  all  men  are 
seeking,  though  they  know  it  not. 

Christ  is  the  Way  to  the  Regenerated  Life,  — 
"  the  only  way  (Name)  given  under  heaven 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  There 
is  no  other  way.  "  He  that  entereth  not  by  the 
Door  into  the  Sheepfold,  but  climbeth  up  some 
other  Way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a  robber." 
" I  Am  the  Door;"  "  I  Am  the  Way."  Thus  the 
Course,  the  Path,  the  "Door,"  the  "Way"  to 
Regenerated  or  Divine  Manhood  is  the  Christ- 
Way.  "/  Am  the  Way." 

"  And  God  spake  unto  Moses  and  said  I  Am  the 
I  Am  (the  Lord)  :  I  appeared  unto  Abraham,  unto 
Isaac  and  unto  Jacob  by  the  name,  God  Almighty  ; 
but  by  my  name,  I  Am  {Jehovah),  was  I  not 
known  unto  them."  The  name,  "  God  Almighty," 
is  a  purely  intellectual  conception  of  God,  —  a 
mere  theoretical  or  theological  concept,  which  can 
never  be  verified  in  consciousness,  —  a  God  you 
never  can  know,  because  God  cannot  be  known 
through  intellect.  Still  our  first  conception  is  the 
intellectual.  But  this  is  the  "  Unknown  God  "  — 
theorized  about,  but  not  known.  Our  first  per- 
ceptions are  through  intellect,  which,  when  quick- 

182 


THE    FIRST   STEP 

ened,  is  the  "  John-the-Baptist "  of  the  mind,  able 
to  perceive  afar  off,  but  unable  to  know  in  con- 
sciousness. What  intellect  perceives,  the  Spirit- 
ual Man  knows  —  is  conscious  of.  Nevertheless 
intellect  "  prepares  the  way  of  the  Lord." 

In  searching  for  the  God  you  can  know  your 
starting  point  must  be  yourself,  always  the  "  known 
quantity"  and  God  the  "unknown  quantity"  in 
your  Divine  equation.  You  are  the  key  to  the 
whole  problem. 

Looking  beyond  the  physical  body,  and  dis- 
cerning your  eternal  Being  within,  you  have  the 
key  which  unlocks  the  very  Holy  of  Holies,  and 
brings  you  into  the  Divine  presence,  where  you 
meet  God  face  to  face,  and  know  that  you  know 
him.  The  recognition  of  Being  within  is  the  first 
step  in  Spiritual  knowledge.  It  is  the  Christ  Im- 
maculately Conceived  within.  Then  after  the  full 
period  of  gestation  (meditation)  —  indicated  by 
the  mystical  number  nine  (nine  months)  —  with- 
out regard  to  time — the  CHRIST  will  be  born  to 
consciousness, — The  Divine  Idea  will  be  fully 
formed  in  consciousness. 

You  start  with  the  "  known  quantity  "  —  BEING, 
within,  your  "  I- Am,"  —  to  find  the  value  of  "X," 

183 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

the  "  Unknown  Quantity."  For  God  will  remain 
the  "  unknown"  to  you  till  you  find  him  through 
the  Divinity  within  you.  The  Way  of  the  "  I  AM  "  is 
"  The  WA  V."  In  simple  meditation  on  "  I  Am  " 
the  soul  perceives,  and  then  becomes  conscious  of 
the  Divine  Christ.  And  through  this  Mediator 
between  the  Human  and  the  Divine,  you  are  to 
gain  the  larger  conception  of  Infinite  Being  —  the 
"  I  Am-that-I  Am"  For  only  through  the  Son 
can  you  know  the  Father.  Through  the  Indi- 
vidual Consciousness  you  may  know  the  Cosmic 
Consciousness. 

"  No  man  knoweth  the  Father  save  the  Son." 
When  the  devout  Hebrew  reads  his  Scriptures, 
and  comes  to  the  word,  Jhvh  (Jehovah—  Yahveh — 
I  AM),  the  greatest  name  of  God  —  the  "  Unutter- 
able Name,"  he  either  passes  over  it  in  silence  or 
substitutes  Adoni  (Lord),  lest  the  accidental  cor- 
rect pronunciation  of  this  "  Great  and  Terrible 
Name  "  should  "  shake  heaven  and  earth."  For 
though  there  are  many  pronunciations,  the  true 
pronunciation  is  unknown.  The  frequent  appear- 
ance of  the  word  "  Lord  "  in  the  Old  Testament 
bears  unmistakable  testimony  to  that  substitution, 


184 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

as  well  as  to  the  great  veneration  and  fear  in  which 
they  held  this  name. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  names,  "  Jehovah  " 
and  "  Lord "  always  refer  to  the  Christ,  as  this 
meaning  is  inherent  in  the  name  itself.  Immanuel 
Swedenborg  saw  this,  and  correctly  affirmed  that 
Christ  is  God,  and  Jehovah  is  Christ.  He  is  to  be 
found  only  within;  and  his  Great  Name  is,  "I 
Am."  Therefore  his  throne  is  the  heart. 

John  came  as  the  forerunner  of  the  Christ.  He 
stands  for  Intellect,  which  looks  without  to  find 
the  Christ.  Wherefore  John  said :  "  I  am  not 
He;"  "There  cometh  a  mightier  than  I."  Yet 
through  abiding  in  the  silence  ("desert")  Intel- 
lect's finer  perceptions  are  quickened ;  and  with 
the  cleansing  power  of  the  "  Baptism  of  Repent- 
ance "  becomes  capable  of  cognizing  the  Christ, 
and  says,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !  "  Yet  this 
Intellect  never  could  do,  were  there  no  kinship 
between  the  Human  and  the  Divine.  (John  and 
Jesus  were  Cousins.) 

Without  this  kinship  Intellect  never  could  be 
quickened.  But  John's  negative  statement  cost 
him  his  head.  Negative  statements  will  always 
defeat  you.  Therefore  be  careful  never  to  place 

185 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

negative  words  after  "  I  Am."  Because,  while  "  I 
Am  "  is  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  you  are 
thus  "  taking  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in 
vain."  "  And  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guilt- 
less, that  taketh  his  name  in  vain."  The  effect 
must  follow  the  cause. 

Jesus  ever  recognized  the  Christ  within  himself. 
Hence  his  positiveness  and  power  in  the  use  of  "  I 
Am."  He  spoke  understandingly  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  Christ,  saying,  "  I  Am  He,"  "  I 
Am  the  Life,"  "  I  Am  the  Way,"  "  I  Am  the  Good 
Shepherd,"  "  I  Am  the  Light  of  the  world,"  "  I 
am  the  Son  of  God,"  —  in  no  case  using  a  nega- 
tive with  "  I  Am."  He  proved  his  Divinity  by 
recognizing  his  Divinity. 

For  the  place  to  find  God  is  always  within. 

"  I  searched  for  God  with  heart-throbs  of  despair, 
'Neath  ocean's  bed,  above  the  vaulted  sky : 
And  then  I  searched  myself,  my  inmost  I, — 
And  found  him  there." 

When  at  the  "  Burning  Bush "  Moses  found 
God  within,  as  he  meditated  upon  "  I  Am,"  and 
identified  himself  with  the  Divine,  he  became 
clothed  with  omnipotent  power  to  accomplish 

186 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

what  the  Divine  One  required  of  him.  The  secret 
of  power  lies  in  one's  ability  to  recognize  and 
identify  himself  with  Divinity  within.  Thus  find- 
ing your  Divine  Self,  a  Divine  estate  is  yours. 
"  All  that  I  have  is  thine,"  the  Bountiful  Father 
says  to  you.  "  Nothing  shall  be  impossible  to  you." 

We  have  not  been  conscious  of  our  Divinity, 
because  we  have  been  in  the  hypnotic  "  deep 
sleep "  of  the  Adam  Consciousness,  from  which 
we  must  be  awakened  to  discover  the  Higher  Self, 
the  Son  of  God,  —  the  "  Eve  "  —  who  becomes 
"  Mary." 

When  once  awakened  to  the  Spiritual  Con- 
sciousness, you  will  find  yourself  in  an  entirely 
new  kingdom,  the  Spiritual  Realm,  quite  unknown 
to  you  before,  —  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

For  in  all  the  universe  God  is  manifest  in  vary- 
ing degrees  on  various  planes  of  consciousness  — 
in  the  various  kingdoms  of  nature.  Each  of  these 
kingdoms  is  perfect  in  itself.  Yet  in  it  the  func- 
tioning entity  is  powerless  to  explore  or  know 
any  kingdom  above  its  own  to  which  it  has  not 
attained. 

The  mineral  is  the  lowest  kingdom  man  has 
recognized.  This  was  until  within  a  few  years 

187 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

regarded  as  a  dead  kingdom ;  but  modern  re- 
search has  found  that  there  is  nothing  dead  in 
the  universe,  that  omnipresent  Life  is  in  every- 
thing, and  that  consciousness  is  everywhere,  be- 
cause God  is  everywhere.  Wherever  there  is  Life 
there  must  be  Consciousness,  commensurate  with 
the  degree  of  Life.  All  Nature  is  alive  with 
Divine  Life,  and  conscious  in  a  corresponding 
degree.  Every  kingdom  has  its  own  conscious- 
ness. But  this  is  not  saying  that  the  lower  forms 
have  reason,  by  any  means.  For  reason  is  the 
function  of  the  brain.  But  Reason  is  not  con- 
sciousness, any  more  than  digestion.  Yet  there 
may  be  consciousness  in  both.  The  Mineral  can 
function  only  in  its  own  kingdom.  Things  of 
higher  kingdoms  are  quite  unknown  and  unknow- 
able to  it  of  necessity. 

Above  the  Mineral  higher  in  the  scale  of  being 
and  consciousness  is  the  Vegetable  kingdom,  with 
full  power  to  explore  and  feed  upon  the  mineral 
below  it ;  yet  quite  powerless  to  know  or  explore 
any  kingdom  above  itself. 

The  next  higher  kingdom  in  the  scale  of  being 
and  consciousness  is  the  Animal  kingdom ;  which, 
while  utilizing  for  itself  both  the  mineral  and 

188 


THE    FIRST    STEP 

vegetable,  has  the  same  limitations  on  the  upward 
side. 

For  in  order  to  know  things  of  a  higher  king- 
dom, it  is  necessary  to  be  in  that  higher  con- 
sciousness. 

Next  comes  the  kingdom  of  Intellect,  still 
higher  in  the  scale  of  being  and  consciousness ; 
consequently  having  higher  powers  to  explore, 
classify,  arrange,  and  utilize  all  things  of  all  king- 
doms below  itself;  yet  quite  incompetent  of  itself 
to  comprehend  Spiritual  things ;  for  the  simple 
reason  that  they  are  of  a  higher  kingdom,  —  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  where  there  is  a  higher,  a 
Spiritual  Consciousness. 

This  reasoning  of  Professor  Drummond's  (with 
slight  modifications)  discloses  a  universal  law, 
governing  every  kingdom  in  which  the  conscious 
entity  is  functioning.  Swedenborg's  rule  is :  Once 
find  a  law  governing  the  manifestation  of  life  on 
any  plane,  and  you  have  a  universal  law,  govern- 
ing all  forms  of  life  on  all  planes.  On  all  planes 
of  Consciousness  God  is  universal  Principle  and 
Law. 

Now,  then,  as  in  the  Animal  kingdom  Birth  is 
the  initial  step  into  conscious  existence  there, — 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

just  so  in  the  Vegetable  kingdom  below,  and  the 
Spiritual  kingdom  above,  must  Birth  be  the  nec- 
essary experience  to  Consciousness  there,  accord- 
ing to  this  universal  law.  What  we  have  called 
the  New  Birth  is,  then,  a  higher  generation  —  the 
generation  of  a  higher  type  or  Consciousness  — 
the  Christ-Consciousness  —  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. 

The  principle  of  Parthenogenesis  is  not  confined 
to  a  few  of  the  lower  orders  of  animals,  as  some 
rotifers  and  hymenopters ;  but  is  a  universal 
principle,  having  a  sphere  of  operation  in  the 
Vegetable,  Animal,  and  Spiritual  kingdoms.  Par- 
thenogenesis seems  to  be  the  basis  of  the  law  of 
all  differentiation,  being  the  production  of  a  higher 
type  from  the  virgin  matrix  of  a  lower  type,  inde- 
pendent of  the  male ;  in  which  case  the  seed-germ 
is  a  Spiritual  Idea  or  principle. 

The  first  appearance  of  vegetation  on  the  earth 
must  have  been  by  a  parthenogenous  birth  from 
the  matrix  of  the  mineral,  the  kingdom  next  be- 
low the  vegetable ;  where  the  Germ  of  the  future 
plant  is  Spiritual,  existing  as  an  Idea  in  Infinite 
Mind ;  which  is  forever  seeking  expression  in 


190 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

form ;  since  it  is  the  nature  and  destiny  of  thought 
to  express  itself. 

Only  the  strict  materialist  will  insist  that  plants 
can  grow  only  from  seeds.  They  first  grew  with- 
out. For  as  all  Life  is  Spiritual,  every  visible  ex- 
pression of  life  must  have  proceeded  from  the 
Spiritual  by  a  parthenogenous  birth,  whenever 
and  wherever  the  duly  adapted  matrix  was  found 
empty  and  receptive  to  it. 

There  is  a  great  universal  law  of  expression 
back  of  seeds,  given  in  Gen.  2:  5,  —  "He  made 
every  plant  of  the  field  before  it  was  in  the  earth, 
and  every  herb  of  the  field  before  it  grew." 

This  is  a  statement  of  the  universal  law  of  ex- 
pression, governing  the  manifestation  of  every 
form  of  life  on  every  plane,  from  the  Vegetable 
all  the  way  up  to  the  CHRIST  in  Consciousness. 
And  without  such  a  law  we  could  not  see  a  reason 
for  believing  in  the  New  Birth.  This  "  plant  of 
the  field  "  was  eternally  "  made  "  long  "  before  it 
was  in  the  earth;  "  it  was  made  and  formed,  as  a 
definite  Idea  in  Infinite  Mind  —  a  Spiritual  Germ 
—  a  living  entity,  having  within  itself  full  power 
to  express  itself —  and  ever  seeking  its  natural 
matrix  for  expression  as  Plant.  And  this  Divine 

191 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Idea  or  Logos-Germ  will  find  visible  expression  just 
as  soon  as  the  perfectly  adapted  matrix  is  found 
empty  and  receptive  to  it.  The  spontaneous  gener- 
ation of  plants  is  a  birth  by  a  parthenogenous  con- 
ception of  the  vegetable  in  the  mineral  kingdom. 

Are  we  bold  in  claiming  this  as  a  universal  law? 
We  have  but  to  open  our  eyes  to  read  it  in  the 
book  of  nature  all  about  us. 

Most  people  are  aware,  and  every  farmer  knows, 
that  when  a  growth  of  timber  has  been  removed, 
and  the  ground  left  uncultivated,  there  is  sure  to 
spring  up  what  is  known  as  a  "  second  growth  "  of 
timber,  entirely  different  from  the  first  growth. 
Ask  the  farmer  why  and  whence  this  change,  and 
his  invariable  answer  is :  "  This  is  Second  Growth, 
this  comes  in !  "  He  sees  the  fact,  yet  he  knows 
not  why. 

Evelyn,  a  Sixteenth  Century  writer  on  timber 
culture,  narrates :  "  When  my  grandmother's  woods, 
consisting  entirely  of  oaks,  were  cut  down,  there 
sprang  up  again,  not  oaks,  but  beeches ;  and  when 
these  in  turn  felt  the  axe,  there  arose  again  spon- 
taneously, not  oaks  nor  beeches,  but  birches" 
To  believe  with  our  materialistic  philosophers, 
who  seem  to  labor  hard  to  avoid  the  recognition 

192 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

of  the  Spiritual  Principle,  that  seeds  had  been 
lying  in  the  moist  soil  a  Century  without  either 
sprouting  or  rotting  (which  is  inevitable),  and 
without  their  being  able  to  discover  these  seeds  — 
would  require  far  greater  credulity  than  to  sup- 
pose that  Nature  fell  back  on  the  law  of  its  ex- 
istence —  as  the  Courts  fall  back  on  Common 
Law,  when  they  find  no  statute  to  fit  the  case  — 
and  that  they  were  produced  in  Nature's  original 
way  —  without  seeds. 

In  Wisconsin  (and  this  is  true  in  all  timbered 
countries)  vast  areas  of  pine  have  been  removed 
by  the  ruthless  lumbermen;  and  the  dry  tree- 
tops  covering  the  ground  have  furnished  fuel  for 
forest  fires,  which  have  swept  over  thousands  of 
acres,  burning  the  very  soil  beyond  the  germinat- 
ing depth  for  seeds,  thus  destroying  possibility  of 
germinating  seeds  in  the  soil.  And  yet  in  a  year 
or  two  a  new  growth  of  deciduous  trees  begins  to 
grow,  without  seeds ;  so  that  these  extensive  empty 
wastes  are  soon  covered  with  a  new  "  second 
growth  "  of —  not  pines  —  but  maple,  birch,  cherry, 
hickory,  etc. 

If  the  birth  of  Jesus,  or  of  Buddha  (or  others 
claiming  the  same  origin),  was  out  of  the  usual 

193 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

order  by  a  virginal  conception,  such  a  birth,  how- 
ever unusual,  could  not  have  occurred  without 
law,  nor  in  contravention  of  law,  however  little  we 
may  understand  the  law. 

May  not  this  be  the  key  to  all  differentiations 
in  nature? — a  law  undiscovered  (or  at  least  un- 
acknowledged) by  the  Darwinian  school,  whereby 
the  race  has  advanced  from  very  low  types  by 
many  parthenogenous  conceptions,  —  until  the 
great  Messianic  type,  the  "  desired  of  all  nations," 
at  last  in  due  time  appeared  by  a  Virginal  Birth? 

Again,  if  it  can  be  proved  beyond  question  that 
plants  ever  make  their  appearance  without  seeds 
this  would  be  a  parthenogenous  conception  in  the 
Vegetable  kingdom,  in  obedience  to  the  same  uni- 
versal law  governing  every  form  of  life  on  the 
earth,  on  every  plane  throughout  the  universe,  not 
excepting  the  so-called  miraculous  birth  of  the 
Messiah.  And  by  the  same  law,  and  only  thus, 
may  the  Christ  be  conceived  and  born  in  the 
human  Consciousness. 

This  Spiritual  Conception  is  the  True  "  Immacu- 
late Conception,"  —  of  which  the  physical  is  its 
symbolic  material  correspondent,  —  each  factor 
of  that  correspondence  existing  by  reason  of 

194 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

the  other,  and  each    being   corroborative  of  the 
other. 

After  these  forest  fires,  and  after  the  Winter 
snows  have  dissolved  in  the  warm  Spring  sun's 
rays,  this  whole  vast  expanse  becomes  an  empty, 
receptive  Womb,  waiting  and  yearning  for  the 
Spiritual  Germ  of  the  exactly  adapted  plant,  ever 
present  in  the  Omnipresent  "Brooding  Spirit"  of 
Universal  Mind  as  an  Idea,  which  is  ever  seeking 
its  proper  matrix,  which  in  turn  is  ever  seeking 
its  proper  Germ,  that  the  plant-Idea  may  find 
expression  as  Plant. 

The  Voice,  which  Mary  heard  announcing  her 
Immaculate  Conception,  is  the  same  Voice  Nature 
hears  in  every  Immaculate  Conception,  on  every 
plane  of  manifestation :  "  The  Holy  Ghost  shall 
come  upon  thee  and  the  Power  of  the  Highest 
shall  overshadow  thee ;  and  that  Holy  Thing  that 
shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be  called  the  SON  of 
GOD." 

In  the  same  way,  and  on  a  higher  plane,  the 
human  heart,  made  empty  by  repentance,  becomes 
a  receptive  Matrix  for  the  Immaculate  Conception 
of  the  Divine  Idea  of  Man  —  the  Christ-Germ, 
which  is  ever  seeking  its  adapted  matrix,  from  the 

195 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

"  overshadowing  Spirit."  There  must  be  a  mutual 
yearning  for  each  other  in  all  of  Nature's  pro- 
cesses of  Birth.  You  must  yearn  for  the  Christ, 
because  the  Christ  is  yearning  for  you. 

"  Ye  must  be  born  again,  or  ye  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God,"  said  Jesus. 

"  Except  the  Christ  be  born  in  you,  ye  are  none 
of  his,"  said  Paul. 

"  Though  Christ  a  thousand  times  in  Bethlehem  be  born, 
Unless  He  's  born  in  thee.  thy  soul  is  all  forlorn," 

said  Schoeffler,  the  mystic  monk  of  the  Seven- 
teenth Century. 

As  the  Spiritual  Logos-plant-germ  is  always 
present  in  Omnipresent  Mind,  so  the  Spiritual 
Logos-Christ-germ  is  always  present  in  Omni- 
present Spirit,  though  unrecognized  by  Intellect, 
—  ready  and  waiting  for  the  receptivity  which 
shall  insure  the  expression  of  the  Christ  in  Con- 
sciousness. The  soul  is  Human ;  the  Christ  is 
Divine.  When  the  Christ  becomes  incarnated  in 
the  Human,  the  Human  thereby  becomes  "  trans- 
formed into  the  image  of  the  Heavenly,"  thus 
working  a  Spiritual  evolution. 

The  Soul  in  this  high  function  is  "  Mary,"  and 
196 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

is  capable  of  conceiving  the  Christ,  that  the  Christ 
may  become  a  matter  of  Consciousness. 

How  beautiful  and  inspiring  to  contemplate  God, 
unfolding  himself  everywhere,  by  One  Law, 
throughout  all  Nature  the  same. 

"  One  God,  One  Law,  One  Element, 
And  One  far-off  Divine  Event, 
Toward  which  the  whole  Creation  moves." 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  we  are  not  speak- 
ing of  the  law  of  reproduction,  usual  and  continu- 
ous ;  but  of  the  unusual  and  occasional,  —  the  law 
of  Differentiation,  whereby  a  higher  manifestation 
of  God  —  a  Higher  Type  —  is  brought  into  expres- 
sion ;  and  wherein  the  Lower  becomes  the  Matrix 
for  the  Conception  of  the  Higher. 

This  Universal  Law  of  Differentiation  by  Immac- 
ulate Conceptions  in  the  process  of  Evolution  is 
very  important  to  the  scientific  mind;  inasmuch 
as  it  affords  a  scientific  basis  for  the  doctrine  of 
Regeneration  as  a  practical  experience  under  nat- 
ural Law,  in  the  higher  evolution  of  man. 

It  must  now  be  clear  why  the  New  Birth  is  a 
necessity  of  the  True  Christian  Life ;  and  that  its 
modus  operandi  is  according  to  the  Divine  order 

197 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

of  Universal  Law.  Under  this  great  Law  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  Begetter;  the  Soul  is  the  Mother; 
and  CHRIST  is  the  "  Only  Begotten  Son,"  who 
thus  becomes  your  Life,  your  Saviour,  your  Re- 
deemer, your  Salvation. 

Thus  there  is  One  Universal  Law  of  evolution 
for  plant-Life,  for  Animal-Life,  and  for  the  Christ- 
Life  ;  since  they  are  all  the  evolution  of  the  ONE 
LIFE,  which  is  God,  in  various  manifestations,  on 
different  planes  of  expressions  and  consciousness. 

If,  now,  we  have  discovered  the  great  Law 
whereby  the  Christ  is  born  in  consciousness,  may 
we  not  go  to  work  deliberately  and  understand- 
ingly  to  bring  about  that  much-desired  experience  ? 
If  we  understand  the  law  of  the  Christ-Conception, 
and  are  willing  to  conform  to  it,  we  shall  certainly 
be  in  position  to  do  our  part  in  the  matter,  and 
thus  put  ourselves  in  the  necessary  attitude  for 
the  Spirit's  "  overshadowing,"  in  order  to  the 
Divine  Conception. 

We  certainly  have  a  part  to  perform,  and  we 
can  the  better  perform  it  for  this  better  under- 
standing of  it. 

By  "  working  together  with  God,"  —  as  we  must 
in  all  possible  progress, —  performing  our  neces- 

198 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

sary  part  under  this  Law,  we  may  have  the 
wonderful  experience  of  Passing  a  Great  Evohi- 
tionary  Boundary,  in  our  march  from  the  Human 
to  the  Divine,  from  the  Animal-human  to  the 
Divine-human,  in  Consciousness.  And  what  we 
are  in  consciousness,  that  we  are !  We  are  to 
become  in  Consciousness  Sons  of  God. 

If,  now,  you  will  carefully  follow  us  in  thought, 
we  will  outline  the  course  of  thought  action  neces- 
sary to  bring  us  the  experience  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception  of  the  Christ  in  Consciousness. 

To  this  end  we  will  put  ourselves  in  the  condi- 
tion of  passive  receptivity,  silencing  all  desires, 
eliminating  from  consciousness  all  things  of  Carnal 
Mind,  even  rejecting  the  Carnal  self.  Then  let  us 
hunger  and  thirst  for  Divine  things ;  let  us  yearn 
for  the  perfect  Christ  in  Consciousness  —  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

We  will  follow  a  line  of  Spiritual  reasoning 
calculated  to  bring  about  the  much  desired 
transformation. 

To  the  honest  searcher  for  the  highest  Spiritual 
experience  the  following  formula  of  words  will  be 
found  helpful  in  leading  the  aspiring  soul  into  the 
correct  attitude  for  the  Great  Conception. 

199 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Directions:  Repeat  the  following  Statements, 
at  intervals  often  seconds  of  silence,  in  which  you 
'make  each  statement  your  very  own,  baptizing  it 
with  the  heart's  holiest  Love,  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies  of  your  heart.  "  John "  appears  in  the 
two  first  statements  of  negation,  thus  to  "  prepare 
the  Way  of  the  Lord  "  by  his  "  Baptism  of  Re- 
pentance "  —  rejecting  and  casting  out  old  erro- 
neous conceptions : 

A  MEDITATION  for  the  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION 
of  the  CHRIST  in  Consciousness : 

I  AM  NOT  A  MATERIAL  BEING  —  A  "WORM  OF 
THE  DUST." 

I  AM  NOT  A  "  FALLEN  BEING  "  "  TOTALLY  DE- 
PRAVED." But 

I  AM  A  SPIRITUAL  BEING  —  A  SON  OF  GOD. 

I  "  CALL  NO  MAN  UPON  EARTH  MY  FATHER  : 
ONE  is  MY  FATHER,  EVEN  GOD." 

Therefore, 

I  AM  WHOLLY  SPIRITUAL  —  NOW. 

I  "LIVE,  MOVE,  AND  HAVE  MY  BEING  IN 
SPIRIT." 

I  AM  ENFOLDED  IN  SPIRIT  OMNIPRESENT. 

I  AM  STRONG  WITH  TRUTH'S  OMNIPOTENCE. 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

I  AM  FILLED  AND  THRILLED  WITH  OMNIPOTENT 
LIFE. 

I  AM  ENFOLDED  IN  INFINITE  LOVE. 

I  AM  BATHED  IN  THE  CLEANSING  FOUNTAIN  OF 
LOVE. 

I  AM  PURIFIED  BY  THE  "  CONSUMING  FlRE  "  OF 
LOVE. 

I  AM  THIRSTING  FOR  THE  FULNESS  OF  LOVE. 

I  AM  YEARNING  FOR  THE  "  LlFE  MORE  ABUND- 
ANT." 

I  AM  DISCERNING  THE  SPIRJTUAL  SUBSTANCE 
OF  MY  BEING. 
I  AM  RESTING  IN  THE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  THE 

ENFOLDING  PRESENCE. 

"THE  HOLY  GHOST  NOW  COMES  UPON  ME, 

AND     THE     POWER      OF     THE      HIGHEST      OVER- 
SHADOWS  ME." 

I   AM   RECEIVING  THE   LIVING   CHRIST-TRUTH. 

I  AM  CONCEIVING  THE  LIVING  CHRIST. 

I  AM  DISCERNING  THE  CHRIST  LIVING  WITH- 
IN. 

I   AM   FEELING  THE   "  QUICKENING   SPIRIT." 

I  AM  CONSCIOUS  OF  THE  QUICKENING  CHRIST- 
LlFE. 

I  AM  CONSCIOUSLY  A  SON  OF  GOD. 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

I   AM   FILLED  WITH   THE    SPIRIT    OF    PEACE, — 
"PEACE  ON   EARTH:    GOOD   WlLL  TO   MEN." 
I   AM  NOW  IDENTIFIED   WITH   CHRIST. 

"  IN  THE  CITY  OF  LOVE  (DAVID)  CHRIST 
IS  BORN  TO-DAY:  GLORY  TO  GOD  IN  THE 
HIGHEST." 

I  AM  AWAKENING  TO  A  NEW  CONSCIOUSNESS. 

I  AM  UNFOLDING  THE  CHRIST-CONSCIOUS- 

NESS. 

I  AM  NOW  GOVERNED  BY  THE  NEW-FOUND 
CHRIST-PRINCIPLE. 

"I  LIVE;  YET  NOT  I:  CHRIST  LIVETH  IN 
ME." 

CHRIST  is  MY  LIFE,  UNCEASING  AND  UNOB- 
STRUCTED. 

CHRIST  is  MY  HEALTH,  UNFAILING  AND  UN- 
IMPAIRED. 

I  AM  IN  AT-ONE-MENT  WITH  CHRIST. 

A  NEW  LIFE-BLOOD    NOW    CIRCULATES    IN 

MY  VEINS. 

IT  is  THE  CHRIST-LIFE  LIVING  ME.  And 
thus 

"THE  BLOOD  OF  CHRIST  CLEANSETH  ME 
FROM  ALL  SIN." 


202 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

I  AM  EVERY  WHIT  WHOLE  —  THROUGH 
CHRIST. 

Now  THE  CHRIST  INDWELLING  MOLDS  ME 
INTO  HIS  LIKENESS,  AND  FILLS  ME  WITH  INEF- 
FABLE PEACE AMEN. 

(Repeat  these  Statements  in  Meditation  daily, 
until  the  Christ  is  awakened  in  Consciousness.) 


Presuming  that  you  have  so  sincerely  and 
faithfully  performed  this  exercise  as  to  have  a 
conscious  "  quickening,"  then  you  have  experi- 
enced the  New  Conception.  The  New  Birth  fol- 
lows in  its  own  time ;  which  is  the  First  Step  in 
Regeneration,  making  you  a  "  New  Creature  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  where  "  old  things  have  passed 
away,  and  behold  !  all  things  have  become  New." 
But  you  are  not  yet  fully  regenerated.  You  have 
but  just  entered  the  "  WAY."  Five  other  Steps 
remain  to  be  taken,  before  you  are  fully  Christ-ed 
—  Regenerated. 

« '  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Rebecca,  «  Two  Nations  are  in 
thy  womb;  two  manner  of  people.1"  —  Gen.  25:23. 


203 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

These  dissimilar  Twin  Brothers,  Jacob  and  Esau, 
are  the  Two  Natures  which  are  struggling  within 
you.  They  are  the  Spiritual  and  the  Natural,  the 
Real  and  the  Unreal,  the  Ideal  and  the  Apparent, 
the  True  and  the  False,  the  Divine  and  the  Hu- 
man. Hitherto  the  Human  (Esau)  has  ruled  you : 
henceforth  the  Divine  (Jacob)  is  in  dominion. 

For  like  Abraham  you  are  called  to  leave  the 
old  life,  and  to  form  for  yourself  a  New  World  of 
higher  aims  and  higher  experiences. 

You  have  thus  entered  the  Way  of  Regenera- 
tion, being  born  of  the  Spirit  —  "  not  of  corrupti- 
ble seed,  but  of  incorruptible." 

In  your  New  Consciousness  you  are  a  New  Man, 
with  New  Faculties  and  powers.  For  you  are 
consciously  a  Son  of  God ;  and  have  New  Senses, 
—  a  New  Sight,  unknown  to  the  old  man,  which 
reveals  to  you  a  world  of  heavenly  beauty.  You 
have  a  New  Hearing,  before  unknown,  which  en- 
ables you  to  hear  the  "  Voice  of  the  Lord." 

"  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear," 

You  breathe  a  New  Breath  —  the  "  Breath  of 
Life"  —  Divine  Inspiration.  Instead  of  the  con- 

204 


THE   FIRST   STEP 

sciousness  of  mere  air-breathing,  you  are  conscious 
of  Life-breathing. 

You  are  using  the  faculties  and  powers  of  the 
Spiritual  Man. 

Henceforth  understanding  your  New  Nature 
with  its  New  Faculties  and  Powers,  realizing  your 
Spiritual  Manhood,  you  will  no  longer  complain 
of  bad  health  or  bad  blood  or  sluggish  circulation ; 
because  the  very  "Ichor  of  the  Gods" — the 
"Blood  of  Christ"  (the  Life  of  Christ)  courses  in 
your  veins,  quickening  into  perfect  Health. 

For  in  your  new  Manhood  the  Omnipotent 
CHRIST  lives  you. 

" 1  live ;  yet  not  I ;  CHRIST,  liveth  (in)  me." 


205 


VIII 

THE   SECOND    STEP :  —  UNFOLDMENT    IN    WISDOM 
UNTO   MANHOOD 

' '  And  the  Child  grew  and  waxed  strong,  filled  with 
WISDOM  ;  and  the  Grace  of  God  was  upon  him." 

"  And  when  he  was  TWELVE  YEARS  OLD  they  went  up  to 
Jerusalem  after  the  custom  of  the  feast." 

"  After  Three  Days  they  found  him  in  the  Temple,  sitting 
in  the  midst  of  the  Doctors."  —  Luke  2:40,  42,  46. 

"  This  is  My  BELOVED  SON,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 
—  Luke  3:  22. 

As  under  the  Mosaic  symbology  we  traced  the 
orderly  unfoldment  of  the  Spiritual  Consciousness 
through  its  successive  Six  Steps  unto  its  fully  illu- 
minated manifestation,  —  so  now  under  the  more 
forceful  symbology  of  the  life  of  Jesus  the  Christ, 
as  a  Living  Allegory,  we  advance  in  the  Spiritual 
or  Christ-Consciousness  from  its  Initial  Step  of 
Conception  and  Birth  to  the  Second  Step,  the 
WISDOM  Period  of  that  Evolution, — "  unto  the 

206 


THE    SECOND    STEP 

measure  of  the  Stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ " 
(Eph.  4:  14). 

When  through  Wisdom  the  Christ-Stature  is  at- 
tained, then  and  not  till  then  may  you  receive  the 
Spirit's  Baptism,  in  which  you  will  receive  the 
revelation  of  Son-ship.  You  cannot  receive  this 
by  going  in  your  own  way;  but  only  after  a 
suitable  unfoldment  through  Spiritual  Wisdom. 

Our  First  Step  in  this  evolution  was  the  spring- 
ing up  in  Consciousness  of  a  New  Principle — a 
Divine  Idea,  before  unknown  (because  of  a  higher 
plane),  which  rilled  the  whole  Consciousness  with 
a  supreme  delight,  a  joyous  satisfaction. 

This  new-born  Infant  Idea,  Spiritually  conceived 
and  born  to  Consciousness,  so  pure  and  delightful 
in  its  appearing  in  the  mind,  you  will  lovingly 
cherish  and  tenderly  care  for  during  its  incipient 
stage  of  manifestation  in  Consciousness ;  and  be- 
cause it  is  so  pleasing  to  your  quickened  Spiritual 
sense,  you  will  carefully  guard  it  against  every 
danger  from  your  own  unregenerate  thoughts, 
until  it  shall  unfold  the  WISDOM  of  God  in  Con- 
sciousness, —  even  unto  the  "  Stature  of  Christ." 

Do  not  for  a  moment  imagine  your  supreme  at- 
tainment is  reached  because  you  have  the  joyful 

207 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

experience  of  the  New  Birth.  Through  unwise 
teachers  many  have  made  this  mistake,  and  thus 
dwarfed  their  unfoldment.  In  your  joy  do  not 
think  you  have  nothing  more  to  do  because  the 
Christ  is  born.  You  have  but  entered  the  "Way" 
of  a  course  of  unfoldment,  whose  purpose  and 
ultimate  end  is  the  Spiritualization  and  regener- 
ation of  both  soul  and  body. 

This  wonderful  Child  is  committed  to  your  care, 
and  now  becomes  your  charge ;  and  your  Spiritual 
unfoldment  will  depend  on  your  fidelity  to  this 
charge.  But  with  a  fixed  purpose  to  be  true  to 
the  monitions  of  the  Spirit,  you  may  rejoice  at 
the  glorious  prospect  of  this  unfolding  unfold- 
ment, with  great  expectations  from  the  opening 
vistas  before  you. 

But  Intellect  does  not  readily  receive  the  Christ. 
It  is  so  completely  occupied  with  things  of  this 
objective  life  that  "  there  is  no  room  for  him  in 
the  Inn."  Yet  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  —  when 
Intellect  is  quiescent  —  in  the  subconscious  mind 
—  close  to  the  instinct  nature,  where  innocence  is 
found,  —  among  the  beasts  —  there  is  the  Christ 
brought  forth  to  Consciousness. 

Here  in  the  Inner  Love  Centre,  where  Mother- 
208 


THE    SECOND    STEP 

hood  dwells,  he  is  joyfully  received  and  tenderly 
cared  for.  Yet  there  are  whole  realms  of  the 
mind  still  unawakened,  in  utter  darkness  as  to  this 
New  Light  now  dawning.  In  this  region  of  unre- 
generate  thought  Herod  is  King;  and  here  he 
rules  with  a  rod  of  iron. 

At  your  "  Judah  "  Centre  you  are  now  enlight- 
ened, and  your  better  nature  is  sure  to  triumph. 
It  is  no  longer  the  Carnal  Will  by  which  you  are 
to  be  governed,  but  the  Spiritual  Will.  Because 
the  Christ  is  begotten  of  Love,  and  Love  is  wedded 
to  Wisdom. 

Your  tender  motherly  Understanding  (Mary) 
and  your  fatherly  Will  (Joseph)  are  called  upon 
to  give  their  sincere  devotion  and  faithful  protec- 
tion during  the  earlier  period  of  this  beautiful 
Christ  Life.  For  in  your  heart  of  hearts  you  are 
really  in  love  with  Truth.  For  there  is  always 
something  intrinsic  in  it  which  commends  itself. 
Somehow  you  know  it  instinctively.  Therefore 
you  will  surely  shield  it  from  Herod's  cruel  hand. 

By  the  New  Conception  and  New  Birth  you 
enter  upon  a  New  Life  for  the  unfoldment  of  a 
New  Manhood,  —  Manhood  of  a  higher  type  — 
Christ-Manhood  —  Regenerate  Manhood. 

209 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

In  this  Second  Degree,  the  Youth  Period  of 
your  Christ  Manhood,  you  are  to  develop  Wisdom 
and  Understanding  in  order  to  receive  the  "  in- 
crease in  Stature  "  of  that  Manhood.  Therefore 
to  seek  and  appropriate  Wisdom  is  the  first  duty 
of  every  Christian,  since  there  is  no  soul  growth 
possible  without  it. 

"  There  came  Wise  Men  from  the  East  to  wor- 
ship Him." 

From  the  mysterious  "  East,"  the  source  of 
Light  —  from  the  Spiritual  and  not  from  Intellect, 
will  come  to  the  renewed  Consciousness  a  greater 
Light  and  higher  Wisdom  than  Intellect  knows 
anything  about. 

It  is  Spiritual  Wisdom  —  true  Wisdom  —  Divine 
Wisdom — Wisdom  not  contained  in  books  nor 
taught  by  man,  —  beyond  the  wisdom  of  the 
world.  For  "  the  wisdom  of  the  world  is  foolish- 
ness with  God."  Genuine  Wisdom  brings  to  the 
mind  illumination  —  like  the  ushering  in  of  a  new 
Day,  its  wonderful  Light  dispelling  the  deep  dark- 
ness of  unregenerate  Carnal  Mind.  Therefore  the 
coming  of  the  "  Wise  Man  "  represents  the  coming 
of  the  Light  of  Truth  to  the  mind,  —  bearing  its 
rich  "  gifts  of  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh," 


THE   SECOND    STEP 

representing  Love,  Joy,  and  Peace.  For  Love  is 
the  "  Gold,"  Joy  the  fragrant  "  Frankincense,"  and 
Peace  the  soothing  "  Myrrh  "  of  the  Christ-Con- 
sciousness. 

The  right  of  Circumcision  administered  to  the 
holy  Child  symbolizes  your  own  act  of  consecra- 
tion of  this  beautiful  Christ-Principle  as  your  own 
highest  Good  —  your  own  Salvation.  For  Truth 
is  the  principle  of  Salvation  ;  and  Christ  is  Truth ; 
its  name  is  "Jesus,"  which  means  Saviour. 

The  murderous  Herod's  hostility  shows  the  re- 
bellion of  Carnal  Will,  king  in  the  realm  of  Carnal 
Mind,  at  the  suggestion  that  a  greater  King  has 
appeared  in  the  Conscious  Mind.  He  will  not 
readily  concede  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Spiritual  over  the  Intellectual ;  he  will  not  recog- 
nize this  rising  King  of  the  Jews.  He  trembles  at 
the  thought,  that  Carnal  Will  must  lose  its  king- 
dom, and  submit  to  the  reign  of  the  Christ.  For 
Carnal  Mind  is  always  afraid  and  envious  of  the 
Spiritual,  because  it  stands  condemned  before  it. 
"  This  is  condemnation,  that  Light  has  come  into 
the  world." 

Carnal  Will,  if  it  were  allowed  its  way,  would 
exterminate  the  Christ  from  Consciousness.  This 

211 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

is  the  "  chemicalization  "  which  takes  place,  when 
the  condemning  Light  of  Truth  shines  upon  the 
guilty  conscience.  "  Herod  seeks  the  young 
Child  to  destroy  it."  How  bitterly  men  some- 
times fight  against  the  Spirit's  working  in  their 
hearts !  But  the  Infant  Christ,  being  safely  en- 
shrined in  your  Love  Centre,  and  consecrated  as 
your  own  Salvation,  you  will  surely  shield  from 
Herod.  For  this  purpose  you  "  go  down  into 
Egypt."  That  is,  you  begin  to  use  your  Reason 
in  defence  of  the  Christ.  For  the  wisdom  of  Intel- 
lect is  the  "  Wisdom  of  Egypt ;  "  and  Spiritual 
Wisdom  is  not  yet  unfolded ;  it  is  but  in  its  Infant 
stage.  Every  new  convert  is  very  enthusiastic  in 
the  use  of  Intellect  in  defence  of  the  Christ, — 
which  is  very  proper.  It  is  the  natural  order. 

But  Intellect  is  to  be  ultimately  redeemed  by 
the  Christ-ing  of  the  mind,  after  you  have  "  gone 
into  all  the  world,  and  preached  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature  "  of  subconscious  mind.  For  all 
things  are  occurring  in  your  own  Microcosmic 
world  within. 

When  Herod  dies — when  this  chemicalization 
subsides  —  you  "  arise,  and  go  into  Israel."  For 
true  Spiritual  development  you  are  called  out  of 


THE   SECOND   STEP 

Egypt,  —  to  increase  in  Spiritual  thought  —  de- 
livered from  the  domination  of  Intellect.  By  med- 
itation on  the  Christ  you  shall  know  True  Wis- 
dom. Through  meditation  you  begin  to  live  from 
the  Spiritual;  so  that  the  Spiritual  becomes 
natural  to  you.  This  is  your  higher  natural, 
where  for  Spiritual  Realization  you  do  not  need  to 
cast  your  thought  in  the  mold  of  intellectual 
formula  —  "  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  Son." 

You  are  now  advancing  in  the  Christ  Life  in 
the  true  way, —  that  of  meditation, —  and  you  there- 
fore "  wax  strong  in  Spirit,  filled  with  Wisdom." 
Through  meditation  you  reach  a  new  state  of 
Consciousness,  unfolding  Wisdom  beyond  the 
conception  of  Intellect.  Having  established  the 
meditative  habit — dwelling  in  contemplation  of 
the  Christ  within  —  the  "  Wisdom  of  Egypt "  no 
longer  dominates  you.  Intellect  is  held  in 
abeyance,  that  you  may  continually  hear  the 
voice  of  the  Spirit  and  be  led  in  Wisdom's  way. 
This  is  your  call  out  of  Egypt. 

Having  been  well  fed  and  nourished  on  the 
Spiritual  pabulum  or  "  sincere  milk  of  the  Word," 
you  are  advancing  beyond  the  Infant  stage  of  the 
Christ-Consciousness  to  the  Youth  Period.  The 

213 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

fulness  and  completeness  of  this  Wisdom  unfold- 
ment  is  indicated  by  the  mystic  expression, 
"TWELVE  YEARS  OLD." 

In  the  Scriptures  "  Twelve  "  is  a  great  mystical 
number,  always  referring  to  Spiritual  things,  as 
"  ten  "  refers  to  human  or  natural  things.  On  the 
Spiritual  plane  it  must  never  be  taken  literally  or 
numerically.  It  is  the  number  of  fulness  or  com- 
pleteness, and  denotes  All — the  fulness  of  some 
principle  named  in  the  text.  As  the  principle 
named  is  "  Wisdom,"  it  signifies  that  in  this  stage 
of  progress  all  things  of  Wisdom  are  open  to  you 
to  be  manifested  to  your  understanding  through 
the  demonstrations  of  experience.  In  all  this  you 
are  most  truly  "  about  your  Father's  business." 

In  the  interpretation  of  all  inspired  writings  the 
Spiritual  sense  requires  the  elimination  of  Time 
and  Space  from  thought,  that  the  full  Spiritual 
experience  may  be  Now  and  Here,  having  neither 
to  be  waited  for  nor  journeyed  to.  For  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  is  neither  past  nor  future,  near 
nor  far.  It  is  Now  and  Here  —  "  nigh  thee,  and 
in  thy  heart  and  in  thy  mouth." 

Now,  as  the  Youth  period  extends  to  Manhood, 
and  is  the  time  for  gaining  Wisdom  on  both  the 

214 


THE   SECOND    STEP 

planes  of  Intellect  and  Spirit,  so  in  this  Conscious- 
ness all  things  of  Wisdom  ("  12")  are  unfolding 
you  to  your  Christ-manhood,  or  the  "  Stature  of 
Christ,"  which  is  "  Thirty  Years  Old."  The  Soul 
after  being  fed  on  all  things  of  Wisdom  ("  12  ") 
unfolds  to  the  "  Stature  of  that  manhood  "  ("  30  "). 

By  means  of  the  fulness  of  Wisdom  ("  12  ") 
you  arrive  at  the  fulness  of  Manhood  ("  30").  In 
the  language  of  symbolism  there  is  no  chasm  or 
hiatus  between  the  mystic  "12"  and  the  mystic 
"  30."  This  is  the  reason  the  allegory  of  history 
is  silent  concerning  the  interval  of  time  between 
twelve  and  thirty  years.  For  symbolically  speak- 
ing there  is  nothing  to  be  stated,  for  the  "  12  "  of 
Wisdom  carries  you  to  the  "  30 "  of  manhood. 
Or  "  12"  extends  to  "30"  in  the  language  of 
symbolism.  Time  is  not  to  be  considered. 

There  is  also  a  very  sufficient  reason  why  "  12  " 
is  used  in  the  one  case  and  a  multiple  of  "  10"  in 
the  other.  For  what  ten  signifies  on  the  natural 
plane,  twelve  signifies  on  the  Spiritual  plane. 
Always  "  10 "  and  its  multiples  refer  to  things 
human,  while  "  12  "  and  its  multiples  refer  to 
things  Spiritual.  Also  the  half  of  "  10 "  (5) 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

stands  for  the  sense  man;  and  the  half  of  "12" 
(6)  for  the  Spiritual  Man  (of  six  senses). 

We  may  now  construct  a  numerical  formula  or 
equation  to  symbolically  represent  the  Atonement 
—  the  reconciliation  of  the  Human  with  the 
Divine:  3X10=6  +  2X12.  Here  by  means 
of  the  divinizing  power  of  the  Trinity  number  (3) 
the  human  ("  10")  receives 'a  transmutation,  so  to 
speak,  by  multiplication;  so  that  thereby  the 
human  ("10")  becomes  the  equivalent  of  the 
Divine  ("12").  For  "  10,"  through  multiplica- 
tion by  the  Divine  number  "  3,"  the  number  of 
the  Trinity  (3  X  10),  receives  a  Divine  value 
through  the  divinizing  power  of  the  number  "3  ;" 
and  6-|-  2  X  12  stands  for  the  "  Stature  of  Christ," 
its  Spiritual  equivalent.  This  is  saying  that  the 
human,  when  spiritually  transformed,  becomes 
Divine.  To  explain  further: 

The  Divine  Self  (the  Christ  within)  is  the 
"  Elder  Brother "  of  the  Human  Self;  and  the 
"  Elder  Brother  "  always  receives  a  "  double  por- 
tion "  (2  X  12)  of  Divine  things.  Hence  we 
may  say:  The  Divinized  Human  (3  X  10)  equals 
the  Spiritual  Man  ("  6  ")  with  his  "  double  por- 
tion "  (6  -J-  2  X  12).  Therefore  the  equation 

216 


THE   SECOND    STEP 

3Xio  =  6-f-2xi2  represents  man's  at-one- 
ment  with  the  Divine  through  unfoldment  in 
Wisdom,  giving  him  the  "  Stature  of  Christ," 
—  the  Divine  Humanity. 

When  this  "  Stature "  in  consciousness  is 
reached,  then  and  not  till  then  will  follow  the 
Spirit's  Baptismal  enduement  and  illumination, 
with  the  consciousness  of  the  Divine  approval 
and  the  revelation  of  Son-ship :  "  This  is  My 
Beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased"  This 
is  the  climax  of  the  Second  Step  in  Regenera- 
tion, —  the  Human  arriving  at  the  consciousness 
of  its  Divinity,  and  receiving  thereby  a  great  illu- 
mination through  that  revelation. 

The  "  144,000  "  who  stand  with  the  "  Lamb  " 
on  Mount  Zion,  having  the  Divine  Name  in  their 
foreheads,  singing  the  song  none  else  could  learn, 
who  are  "  Virgins  without  blemish,"  mentioned  in 
Rev.  1 4th,  is  another  illustration  of  numerical 
symbology  for  picturing  the  redemption  of  the 
"  10"  in  the  "  12,"  in  their  multiples,  to  portray 
the  perfect  Salvation  of  the  individual,  rather  than 
so  many  persons  saved.  Here  the  cube  of  "  10" 
(1,000)  is  multiplied  into  the  square  of  "  12" 
(144),  making  144,000,  thereby  uniting  and 

217 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

blending  the  Human  ("  10")  with  the  Divine 
("  12  "),  symbolizing  the  union  and  absorption 
of  the  Human  in  the  Divine.  For  Salvation  is 
the  Redemption  of  the  Human  (  "  10")  by  the 
evolution  of  the  Christ  ("  12  ")  in  Consciousness. 

Numbers  are  a  part  of  the  great  symbolic 
system  of  the  Scriptures,  since  every  Hebrew 
word  has  a  numerical  value.  It  was  the  idea  of 
Pythagoras,  that  there  is  mathematics  in  every- 
thing; that  everything  is  capable  of  being  ex- 
pressed in  mathematical  formula. 

Therefore  it  is  reasonable  that  there  should  be 
a  Spiritual  significance  to  the  numbers  of  the 
Bible,  since  they  are  a  part  of  the  great  symbolic 
system  to  represent  spiritual  things. 

Further,  to  show  that  "  Twelve  Years  Old " 
refers  to  unfoldment  in  Wisdom,  it  will  be  noted 
that  the  Youth,  Jesus,  was  found  "  sitting  in  the 
midst  of  the  Doctors,  both  hearing  and  asking 
them  questions."  Not  that  he  is  dispensing 
profoundest  intellectual  Wisdom,  as  some  would 
have  us  think,  but  "  hearing  them,"  —  listening  to 
their  Wisdom,  —  and  "  asking  them  questions ;  " 
like  any  inquiring  mind  searching  for  Truth.  For 
this  is  the  Human  Jesus  unfolding  the  Divine 

218 


THE    SECOND   STEP 

Christ  within  himself.  Only  in  the  light  of  the 
unfolding  Christ  can  we  properly  question  the 
formulae  of  Intellect;  because  her  statements 
are  never  exact  and  Absolute  Truth.  They  are 
simply  human  opinion. 

In  Metaphysics  this  is  all  an  inward  experience. 
The  learned  intellectual  "  Doctors "  are  there, 
proud  of  their  boasted  wisdom ;  and  the  unfolding 
Christ  is  there  in  his  meekness.  Thus  the  individ- 
ual is  getting  glimpses  of  that  transcendent  Wis- 
dom, of  which  the  world  knows  nothing.  These 
glimpses  "  astonish  the  doctors." 

Every  one  who  is  unfolding  the  Christ  "  sits 
among  the  doctors,"  searching  for  the  CHRIST- 
WISDOM  in  the  Youth  of  his  unfoldment.  Truth  is 
what  he  is  seeking ;  and  Christ  is  Truth. 

"WISDOM  is  the  principal  thing:  therefore  get 
Wisdom ;  and  with  all  thy  getting  get  Understand- 
ing ;  exalt  her,  and  she  shall  promote  thee ;  she 
shall  bring  thee  to  honor,  when  thou  dost  embrace 
her ;  she  shall  bring  to  thy  head  an  ornament  of 
grace,  and  a  crown  of  glory  shall  she  deliver  unto 
thee  "  (Prov.  4:  7-9). 

This  lesson  treats  of  Wisdom.  It  is  the  Wis- 
dom Degree  of  our  evolution.  In  this  Degree  we 

219 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

apply  ourselves  to  the  study  of  the  Ideal  and  the 
Absolute,  the  Spiritual  and  Metaphysical ;  that  we 
may  "  increase  in  Wisdom,"  and  attain  to  the 
"  Stature  of  Christ." 

Unfolding  Divine  Wisdom,  we  must  become  the 
teachers  of  the  "  Doctors  "  of  the  mind.  For  In- 
tellect is  in  dajkness  respecting  Spiritual  things, 
and  must  be  enlightened  by  Christ,  the  great 
Light-bearer,  that  its  redemption  may  be  accom- 
plished by  the  Christ. 

Wherefore  we  shall  attempt  to  express  our 
Spiritual  Ideas  in  intellectual  terms,  to  intellect- 
ualize  our  Spiritual  Conceptions, — and  thus  to 
spiritualize  Intellect. 

The  learned  "  Doctors  "  must  now  listen  to  the 
Christ. 

Deductive  reasoning  is  the  only  form  suited  to 
this  work.  For  as  our  highest  Ideal  is  God,  the 
Absolute  of  Being,  we  will  make  this  our  starting 
point  in  deductive  reasoning.  Then  we  will  pro- 
ceed to  carry  this  principle  of  absolute  knowledge 
into  the  intellectual  formula  of  the  syllogism,  thus 
intellectualizing  our  Spiritual  Idea,  whereby  the 
Christ  —  the  Spiritual  Ego  —  becomes  the  teacher 
of  the  "  Doctors  "  of  the  mind. 

220 


In  our  search  for  highest  Truth  we  have,  in  our 
Mosaic  Course,  declared  that  God  is  the  One 
Great,  Underived  Original  Principle  or  First 
Cause,  —  the  Supreme  Reality  of  all  things  visible 
and  invisible  in  the  universe,  —  the  One  and  Only 
—  the  ALL. 

To  this  Original  Being,  Omnipresent,  Omniscient, 
and  Omnipotent,  we  gave  other  names,  to  express 
some  quality  or  attribute  of  the  Absolute,  such  as 
"  Good,"  "  Love,"  "  Truth,"  "  Life,"  etc. 

Now,  in  forming  our  Syllogism  for  deductive 
reasoning  we  lay  down 

our  Major  Premise,    .     .  "  God  is  Good,"  and 

our  Minor  Premise,  .     .  "  God  is  Omnipresent;  " 

whence  follows   the   in- 
evitable Conclusion,  .  Good  is    Omnipresent; 

and   the  equally  nec- 
essary Corollary,   .     .  Evil  is  nowhere  present. 

Indeed,  if  God  is  Good,  and  the  Good  is  every- 
where in  the  Omnipresence,  where  in  all  the  uni- 
verse can  we  find  a  point  in  space  for  Evil  to  be? 
If  the  Omnipresence  is  Good,  then  the  Good  is 
ALL;  and  there  is  nothing  but  Good,  as  our  syl- 
logism has  demonstrated. 

221 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Good  is  the  eternal,  positive,  indestructible  Real- 
ity. Evil  is  the  temporal  manifestation  of  the 
Negative,  suppositional  Contradictory  of  Reality, 
—  the  illusory  Unreality,  which  like  every  Lie 
vanishes  with  the  realization  of  its  falsity. 

It  is  one  of  the  basic  rules  of  logic,  that  of  two 
Contradictories  but  one  can  be  affirmed.  The 
other  must  of  necessity  be  denied  and  rejected. 
Therefore  the  Contradictories,  Good  and  Evil,  can- 
not both  be  Realities.  If  we  affirm  one,  we  must 
deny  the  other. 

Again  we  lay  down 

our  Major  Premise,  .     .  "  God  is  Love,"  and 

our  Minor  Premise,  .     .  "  God  is  Omnipresent;  " 

whence  follows  the  un- 
avoidable Conclusion,  Love  is  Omnipresent, 

and  the  equally  nec- 
essary Corollary,  .  .  Hate  is  nowhere  present. 

In  the  realm  of  unchanging  and  eternal  Reality 
Hate  is  another  false  claimant,  an  "  appearance," 
which  appears,  but  is  not;  because  in  the  realm  of 
Reality  it  does  not  even  appear. 

Again  we  lay  down 


THE   SECOND   STEP 

our  Major  Premise,  .     .  "  God  is  Life,"  and 

our  Minor  Premise,  .     .  "God  is  Omnipresent;" 

whence  follows  the  un- 
avoidable Conclusion,  Life  is  Omnipresent; 

and  the  equally  nec- 
essary Corollary,  .  .  Death  is  nowhere  present. 

Indeed,  if  Life  is  God,  the  only  presence  and 
Reality,  then  Death,  although  an  "  appearance  " 
in  consciousness,  has  no  real  Entity  t  and  therefore 
does  not  exist.  For  in  the  Divine  Consciousness 
//  is  not.  Having  only  the  characteristics  of  a 
false  claimant,  it  is  the  Giant  Falsity,  the  stupen- 
dous Lie  of  the  Human  Consciousness,  which 
through  the  unfoldment  of  the  Christ  in  Regen- 
eration must  disappear,  first  from  Conscious- 
ness, then  ultimately  from  manifestation. 

This  is  the  Great  Victory,  which  shall  be  ulti- 
mately achieved.  "  The  last  Enemy  that  shall  be 
destroyed  is  Death." 

Everything  Real  Is  by  reason  of  God,  its  soul 
and  basic  Substance.  Therefore  the  hypothetical 
negatives,  Evil,  Hate,  Death,  etc.,  not  having 
Being  in  God,  must  be  unreal,  transitory,  and 
illusory.  They  are  real  only  to  a  consciousness 

223 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

which  is  itself  unreal.  It  is  because  men  are  in 
this  false  Consciousness  that  they  have  a  distorted, 
astigmatic  vision  of  things,  and  regard  these 
negative  unrealities  with  great  seriousness,  and 
fear  them,  and  suffer  accordingly.  But  Realities 
are  never  to  be  feared.  There  is  nothing  in  them 
of  the  nature  to  awaken  fear,  which  only  springs 
up  in  the  darksome  realm  of  illusion,  —  never  in 
the  realm  of  Truth. 

Men  will  not  say  that  "  Life  is  not  worth  the 
living  "  when  they  recognize  Divinity  within  them- 
selves, and  understand  that  Life  is  God.  That 
very  recognition  and  understanding  is  the  first 
step  out  of  the  darkness  into  the  clear  sunlight, 
where  shadows  do  not  obtain.  In  the  realm  of 
Reality  all  things  subsist  in  God,  the  unchanging 
Good  —  the  very  Substance  of  Reality. 

"  I  am  God;  beside  Me  there  is  none  else." 

That  other  God,  which  has  been  worshipped  by 
Carnal  Mind,  called  "Evil"  and  "Devil,"  men 
have  fallen  down  before  in  abject  fear  of  its  sup- 
posed malific  power.  Yet,  like  all  false  Gods,  it 
has  no  existence,  Reality,  or  power,  except  what 
Carnal  mind  has  attributed  to  it.  Indeed,  we  seem 

334 


THE   SECOND   STEP 

to  have  had  two  Gods,  a  good  God  and  a  bad  God. 
In  this  we  have  been  continually  breaking  the 
First  Commandment.  Idolatry  is  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  another  power  beside  the  GOOD. 
To  exalt  Evil  to  the  dignity  of  Reality  is  to  make 
it  a  God.  Like  all  the  false  gods  of  the  so-called 
heathen,  this  Evil-God,  or  Devil-God,  is  an  arti- 
ficial creation  of  Carnal  Mind.  "  GOD  is  ONE," 
is  the  fundamental  conception  of  the  Hebrews. 

We  will  here  repeat  our  definition  of  God,  as 
given  in  the  Mosaic  Course,  which,  it  must  be 
remembered,  is  but  our  conception. 


(Being, 
GOD  is    \  Mind, 


Spirit, 


Life, 
Truth, 
Love, 


Principle, 
Substance, 
Will—  ,— 


Omniscient,  Omnipotent,  Omnipresent;  — a  Trin- 
ity of  Trinities  in  Unity ;  the  All-embracing,  IN- 
FINITE ONE;  the  BEING  of  all  beings,  the  LIFE 
of  all  lives ;  the  SUBSTANCE  of  all  substances ; 
the  Universal,  Unchangeable  GOOD;  the  ALL- 
FATHER-MOTHER-SON.  And  Man  is  a  Son  of 
God  with  all  that  this  implies. 

"  The  All-embracing  Infinite  One  "  is  necessa- 
rily all  there  is. 

225 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Hence  there  is  no  Life,  Being,  Mind,  or  Sub- 
stance but  God. 

We  must  realize  the  one-ness  of  Life,  Being, 
Mind,  and  Substance,  if  we  would  evolve  out  of 
our  unsatisfactory  situation  into  the  serenity  of  the 
Divine  Consciousness. 

It  is  not  strange  that  we  have  had  discord  and 
confusion  all  the  way  along,  with  two  opposing 
and  contending  forces  besetting  our  path.  We 
have  had  two  opposing  Beings,  two  opposing 
Lives,  two  opposing  Substances,  two  opposing 
Minds,  two  opposing  Principles.  Oneness  with 
God  in  Spirit,  Being,  Life,  and  Substance  must  be 
realized. 

We  must  know  how  to  say,  "  I  and  the  Father 
are  One "  scientifically,  if  we  would  know  "  the 
height  and  depth  and  length  and  breadth  "  of  the 
Christ-Consciousness. 

When  we  are  able  to  realize  that  in  God's  true 
Creation  there  is  nothing  opposing  or  to  be  op- 
posed, there  will  come  to  the  mind  "  The  Most 
Great  Peace  "  —  "  the  Peace  of  God,  that  passeth 
understanding."  God's  Peace  is  the  peace  of  the 
Great  At-one-ment. 

The  Great  Atonement  is  accomplished  by  the 
226 


THE   SECOND   STEP 

recognition  of  the  CHRIST  within,  as  the  "  Media- 
tor between  the  Two,"  whereby  the  Two  become 
One,  making  the  at-one-ment. 

Through  the  Mediator  within  (the  "I-Am") 
you  may  know  the  great  "  I-Am-that-I-Am,"  and 
find  the  two  are  One.  The  realization  of  perfec- 
tion, which  comes  through  conscious  one-ness  with 
God,  is  Salvation.  Your  problem  is  one  of  realiza- 
tion. It  is  not  to  strive  to  be,  but  to  be  ;  not  to 
strive  to  be  Good,  but  to  recognize  your  own 
Goodness ;  not  to  strive  to  be  holy,  but  to  recog- 
nize your  own  holiness  ;  not  to  strive  to  be  healthy, 
but  to  recognize  your  own  health.  For  in  Being 
and  Essence  you  are  already  what  God  is. 

Thus  in  the  Wisdom  stage  of  our  evolution  all 
things  of  Wisdom  are  unfolding  to  our  unfolding 
minds ;  whereby  we  find  ourselves  consciously  en- 
larged in  Spiritual  "stature;"  until  we  find  our- 
selves in  the  state  represented  by  another  mystic 
number  —  "  30  "  —  "  thirty  years  old,"  —  the 
"  Stature  of  Christ." 

In  the  fulness  of  the  Christ  Life  new  possibili- 
ties are  opening  before  us ;  greater  and  still  greater 
things  are  awaiting  us ;  a  still  more  glorious  life 


227 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

opens  to  our  consciousness,  as  we  press  forward 
in  the  Divine  Way. 

The  unfolding  Christ  has  brought  us  to  the  very 
portal  of  the  Kingdom,  the  beautiful  glimpses  and 
foretastes  of  which  lead  us  to  repentance.  Out  of 
the  silence  of  the  soul  the  voice  of  the  mystical 
"  John  "  is  heard  saying :  "  Repent,  for  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  is  at  hand." 

This  outcasting  of  every  thought  inimical  to  the 
Christ  "  prepares  the  way  of  the  Lord."  The 
Baptism  of  repentance  is  the  peculiar  work  of 
"  John  "  in  every  heart  intent  on  making  the  great 
demonstration.  This  is  the  voluntary  rejection 
of  sins  of  thought,  word,  or  deed,  that  nothing 
but  Righteousness  in  consciousness  may  remain. 
"  Every  one  that  hath  this  hope  purifieth  himself, 
even  as  he  is  pure." 

When  in  this  Wisdom  Degree  you  have  rejected 
every  old  false  race  idea,  and  have  washed  the 
mind  of  its  impurities  in  the  "  Jordan  "  of  Spiritual 
thought,  then  will  the  Spirit  of  Truth  bring  its 
message  of  peace,  and  fill  you  with  the  glory  of 
the  revelation  of  your  True  Self.  "  This  is  My 
Beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased"  This 
is  the  Spirit's  revelation  to  your  soul. 

228 


THE   SECOND   STEP 

But  while  this  fact  you  had  before  accepted  in 
an  intellectual  Way,  it  could  not  be  Spiritually 
understood,  without  the  Spirit's  revealing. 

You  now  stand  on  the  high  eminence  of  Spirit- 
ual illumination,  with  your  True  Self  revealed  to 
yourself.  But  you  are  not  to  stop  here ;  for  the 
goal  of  Spiritual  evolution  is  not  yet  reached. 
You  must  descend  from  this  high  eminence  of 
illumination  to  the  plane  of  practical  life,  there  to 
demonstrate  in  practical  experience  all  that  the 
Spirit  has  revealed  in  the  mount  of  Spiritual  exal- 
tation, before  it  can  be  a  matter  of  your  own  Con- 
sciousness, before  it  has  value  in  your  own  un- 
foldment —  before  it  can  be  your  Wisdom. 

Therefore  you  are  to  prove  that  you  are  a  Son 
of  God,  in  the  arena  of  life.  You  must  be  tried 
and  proved  in  the  next  lesson. 

"  Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my  heart;  try 
me  and  know  my  thoughts,  and  see  if  there  be 
any  wicked  way  in  me ;  and  lead  me  in  the  way 
everlasting." 

The  student  who  desires  this  unfoldment  of  the 
Christ  in  Consciousness  will  find  it  helpful  to  re- 
peat the  meditation  of  the  last  lesson  at  the  close 
of  this  and  the  lessons  following. 

229 


IX 


THE     THIRD     STEP  :  —  OVERCOMING  —  "  THE 
WILDERNESS " 

"  Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into  the  Wilderness 
to  be  tempted  of  the  Devil.  And  when  he  had  fasted  Forty 
Days  he  was  afterward  an  hungered."  —  Matt.  4 :  I,  2. 

IN  the  First  Step  was  shown  the  law  whereby  the 
Divine  Thought  or  Idea  is  brought  into  expression 
(or  rather  is  born  into  material  manifestation)  to 
be  the  one  universal  law  governing  every  form  or 
manifestation  of  life,  whether  Vegetable,  Animal,  or 
Spiritual, —  One  Law  universal  and  indispensable, 
operating  without  exception  on  every  plane  of 
God's  world  of  manifest  expressions. 

In  the  story  of  the  "  Immaculate  Conception  " 
and  Birth  of  the  Type-Man,  Jesus  is  represented 
in  objective  symbol  the  esoteric  experience  of  the 
individual  as  he  begins  the  unfoldment  of  the 
Christ  in  Consciousness.  For  all  things  in  the  ob- 
jective world  have  their  correspondence  in  the  sub- 
jective experience.  Thus  we  have  the  process  of 

230 


THE   THIRD   STEP 

the  Conception,  Birth,  and  Unfoldment  of  the  Spir- 
itual Idea  in  the  individual  Consciousness,  with  the 
various  stages  of  development  of  a  Higher  Con- 
sciousness. 

The  Higher  Consciousness  sought  we  call  by 
such  names  as,  the  Christ  Consciousness,  the 
Spiritual  Consciousness,  the  God  Consciousness, 
the  Cosmic  Consciousness.  Different  writers  use 
these  various  terms  for  the  same  thing.  This  Con- 
ception is  a  definite,  Divine  IDEA  conceived  in  the 
matrix  of  the  Human  Consciousness,  which  when 
unfolded  to  maturity  becomes  that  Diviner  Con- 
sciousness which  makes  you  a  "  New  Creation  in 
Christ  Jesus." 

Theology  has  accepted  this  one  case  of  a  birth 
out  of  the  usual  order,  because  it  affords  a  corre- 
spondent symbol  of  the  True  Immaculate  Con- 
ception of  the  Christ  in  Consciousness. 

But  if  we  grant  the  existence  of  the  one  case, 
by  the  same  law  we  may  expect  to  find  it  con- 
firmed in  other  cases.  Accordingly  we  have  the 
birth  of  John  the  Baptist  told  in  very  much  the 
same  terms,  the  birth  of  Isaac,  "  when  Abraham 
was  an  hundred  years  old !  "  and  "  Sarah  past 
age !  "  and  the  birth  of  Samuel,  as  well  as  the 

231 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

birth  of  the  Shunamite  woman's  son.  In  each  case 
there  is  mentioned  an  insurmountable  impediment; 
and  we  are  not  told  that  the  impediment  was  re- 
moved ;  but  rather  that  the  impossible  took  place, 
notwithstanding  the  insurmountable  impediment. 
And  how?  By  the  coming  in  of  a  Higher  Law  to 
beget  and  bring  forth  a  higher  type,  —  a  law  which 
must  have  been  operative  from  the  beginning  of 
Creation  (if  creation  ever  had  a  beginning),  —  a 
law  making  Differentiation  possible  for  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  species,  —  a  process  in  which  Divinity 
is  always  the  prime  factor,  and  without  which 
there  could  be  no  evolution  by  differentiation. 
Wherefore  a  Higher  Type  is  the  inevitable  result. 
And  thus  we  see  the  One  Universal  Law,  whereby 
Man  has  evolved  from  lowest  types  by  many  Im- 
maculate Conceptions,  which  our  retrospective 
glance  may  recognize  in  the  different  races. 

We  have  now  found  the  Great  Law  for  the  Birth 
of  a  Higher  Consciousness  when  the  mind  becomes 
a  receptive  and  adapted  matrix  for  the  Spiritual 
Germ  or  Divine  Idea.  Regeneration  is  thus  seen 
to  be  scientific  in  principle,  because  we  understand 
the  Law  of  its  operation.  There  is  nothing  un- 
natural or  miraculous  when  we  know  the  Law. 

232 


THE   THIRD   STEP 

Having  received  the  Spiritual  Conception,  in 
our  hearts  we  cherished  this  beautiful  Christ-Idea, 
or  Spiritual  Germ,  until  we  felt  the  "  Quickening 
Spirit,"  the  first  sure  sign  of  a  New  Life  within. 
Then  abiding  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Spirit,  we 
were  able  to  sing  Mary's  Song  —  for  the  Soul  is 
Mary :  — "  My  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my 
Saviour."  "  While  shepherd-like  we  watched  our 
flocks"  (pure,  innocent  thoughts)  "by  night" 
(darkness  of  unregenerate  mind)  the  joyful  An- 
nunciation reverberated  in  consciousness:  "In 
the  City  of  Love  (David)  CHRIST  is  born  to- 
day; Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest." 

We  studiously  nurtured  and  guarded  this  Royal 
Child  of  Consciousness,  until  we  consecrated  it 
as  our  own  Highest  Good  and  choicest  Spiritual 
treasure.  This  Consecration  corresponds  to  the 
rite  of  Circumcision. 

Then  in  our  Second  Step  we  advanced  through 
the  Wisdom  Stage  of  our  Christ-unfoldment  — 
the  "  Twelve  Years  Old  "  period,  where  we  "  in- 
creased in  Wisdom  and  Stature,"  until  Wisdom 
had  ripened  us  into  the  fully  matured  Christ-Con- 
sciousness. Discerning  then  the  beauty,  loveli- 
ness, and  desirableness  of  the  dawning  Kingdom  of 

233 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Heaven,  we  heard  the  voice  of  "  John "  within 
calling  to  us,  and  bidding  us  cast  out  all  things  of 
thought  inimical  to  the  Christ,  who  comes  with 
his  "  fan  in  his  hand,"  to  blow  away  the  chaff  of 
error,  and  to  "  gather  the  wheat  (of  ripened 
Truth)  into  his  garner." 

John  is  the  highest  faculty  of  the  Natural  Man, 

—  the  moral  sense  which,  if  heeded,  always  calls 
to  repentance,  which  thus  "  prepares  the  Way  of 
the  Lord." 

To  our  hearts  thus  purified  and  prepared,  the 
Spirit  revealed  to  us  the  highest  fact  of  Being, 
namely,  that  we  are  God's  "  Well  Beloved  Son." 
This  is  the  Spirit's  revelation  of  yourself  to  yourself 

—  of  the  Higher  Self  to  the  lower  Self  —  the  Son  of 
God  within  made  manifest  to  Consciousness.  What 
had  been  before  dimly  perceived  by  Intellect,  and 
not  understood,  is  now  clearly  revealed  —  Spiritu- 
ally known.     "  The    Spirit  itself  beareth  witness 
with  our  spirits,  that  we  are  Sons  of  God"  (Rom. 
8  :i6).     Only  by  a  revelation  can  this  high  Truth 
be    known.       Intellect    cannot    reveal     Spiritual 
Truth,  neither  can  it  know  it  from  itself. 

This  inner  knowledge,  the  first  step  in  Spiritual 


234 


THE   THIRD    STEP 

Wisdom,  must  come  by  a  revelation,  and  in  no 
other  way.  Yet  this  is  not  a  demonstration. 

The  revelation  is  the  Spirit's  work ;  the  demon- 
stration is  yours.  "  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God, 
thou  must  prove  it  by  every  overcoming,"  must 
have  been  the  way  the  Master  reasoned  as  each 
temptation  was  encountered ;  or  else  the  wily 
tempter  would  not  have  made  use  of  this  formula, 
as  if  to  take  him  on  his  own  ground,  and  lead  him 
into  the  sin  of  presumption.  This  is  not  saying 
that  the  tempter  was  a  personage.  No,  the  tempter 
and  the  temptation  are  both  within.  For  the  lower 
nature  is  always  the  tempter.  There  is  a  duality 
in  consciousness  until  the  completion  of  Regener- 
ation, which  restores  the  lower  nature  to  the  pris- 
tine purity  of  the  higher  nature. 

Every  one  must  prove  his  Son-ship  by  over- 
coming like  a  Son,  silencing  the  clamoring  of  the 
lower  nature.  For  what  the  Spirit  has  revealed  to 
you,  you  must  demonstrate  to  yourself,  before 
you  can  be  enriched  with  Wisdom  from  that  ex- 
perience. Overcoming  is  the  work  of  this  degree. 
There  is  no  growth  or  unfoldment  without  it.  With- 
out temptation  there  is  no  virtue  even. 

The  first  active  movement  of  the  conscious  mind 
335 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

is  to  choose  or  determine.  The  next  is  to  put 
that  decision  into  execution  by  means  of  the  Will. 
And  this  action  of  Will  implies  and  requires  force ; 
and  force  implies  something  to  overcome,  —  oppo- 
sition, hindrance,  resistance,  —  something  to  be 
mastered  or  achieved.  Every  victory,  achieve- 
ment, or  attainment  is  won  at  the  price  of  effort  or 
struggle. 

Either  you  must  be  a  conqueror  or  be  con- 
quered. There  is  no  neutral  ground.  Your  own 
growth  and  unfoldment  require  a  victory.  You 
are  a  king,  and  must  conquer.  Otherwise  you 
lose  you  kingdom. 

There  can  be  no  moral  virtue  without  a  victory 
over  temptation.  There  can  be  no  moral  quality 
or  character  without  the  "  Wilderness "  experi- 
ences. You  must  either  win  or  lose  in  this  battle 
Royal.  The  "appearance  of  evil"  must  be  over- 
come by  Good,  before  the  Good  has  any  quality 
of  Goodness  for  you.  The  overcoming  of  the 
Contradictory  of  the  Good  reveals  the  quality  of 
Goodness  in  the  Good. 

Otherwise  the  Contradictory  not  overcome 
would  appear  to  be  the  abiding  Reality,  the  thing 


236 


THE   THIRD    STEP 

of  virtue.  Yet  its  quality  and  real  character  must 
afterwards  be  re-determined  by  its  fruits. 

Therefore  Temptation  is  Good  —  not  evil.  If 
properly  handled,  it  must  not  be  treated  as  reality 
or  even  as  an  evil.  For  if  you  see  in  it  Reality,  a 
foe  "  worthy  of  your  steel,"  you  will  be  in  great 
danger  of  falling  under  it ;  you  will  be  engaged  in 
uncertain  warfare.  In  its  proper  use  it  is  a  means 
for  unfolding  your  powers,  for  proving  what  kind 
of  stuff  you  are  made  of,  of  demonstrating  your 
worth,  your  virtue,  your  Sonship,  your  Divinity. 
For  without  testing,  without  overcoming,  without 
demonstration,  there  is  no  conscious  power,  virtue, 
or  dominion.  All  possible  things  are  waiting  for 
the  victor.  "  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all 
things."  All  true  greatness  comes  through  win- 
ning victories  over  self. 

Do  not  in  extenuation  of  your  failure  complain 
that  your  temptation  was  too  great,  greater  than 
others  have  to  meet.  You  have  nothing  to  do 
with  another,  nor  he  with  you.  You  stand  alone 
in  every  temptation ;  and  your  loving  Father 
"  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  beyond  what 
ye  are  able  to  bear ;  but  will  with  the  temptation 
also  provide  a  way  of  escape."  Therefore  remem- 

337 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

her  this :  The  measure  of  the  temptation  is  the 
measure  of  your  power  to  overcome.  In  God's 
world  all  things  are  evenly  balanced.  Wherefore 
"  All  things  work  together  for  Good  "  —  to  those 
who  see  the  Good  in  all  things.  You  are  always 
equal  to  the  emergency,  and  always  have  free 
choice. 

Temptation  is  a  means  to  a  great  end  —  that  of 
bringing  out  your  greater  faculties  and  powers. 
With  a  fixed  purpose  you  will  win.  You  may 
"  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad  "  as  you  see  your 
opportunity  to  become  strong  by  overcoming  the 
present  stress,  —  knowing  that  your  Heavenly 
Father  careth  for  you  all  the  while,  and  has  given 
you  strength  equal  to  your  day;  and  knowing, 
moreover,  that  the  measure  of  the  emergency  is 
the  measure  of  your  powers  —  then  why  should 
you  falter?  Why  not  rather  rejoice  at  the  pros- 
pect? Listen  to  James:  "Blessed  is  the  man  that 
endureth  temptation;  for  when  he  is  tried,  he 
shall  receive  the  crown  of  Life." 

Thus  temptation  is  beneficent,  opening  to  the 
wise  man  the  way  to  the  highest  things.  Holland 
says: 


238 


THE   THIRD    STEP 

"  We  rise  by  what  we  have  put  under  feet, 
By  what  we  have  mastered  of  greed  and  gain, 
By  the  pride  deposed  and  the  passions  slain, 
And  the  vanquished  ills  we  hourly  meet." 

You  cannot  be  overcome  against  your  will. 
Your  will  is  supreme.  You  are  always  the  King 
in  your  kingdom.  If,  then,  you  fall  under  temp- 
tation, it  is  because  you  have  so  deliberately 
chosen.  In  your  kingly  manhood  or  queenly 
womanhood  you  wield  supreme  powers,  omnipo- 
tent within  the  sphere  of  your  activity.  But  once 
having  yielded  your  will,  once  having  discounted 
your  omnipotence,  you  have  weakened  yourself 
in  your  kingdom.  But  by  every  success  gained, 
by  every  victory  achieved,  you  strengthen  your- 
self in  your  kingdom. 

The  fact  is,  we  do  not  know  the  majesty  and 
power  of  our  Divine  manhood  until  we  have  dem- 
onstrated it  to  ourselves  by  overcoming.  Om- 
nipotent powers  lie  dormant  in  us,  only  awaiting 
our  demonstration. 

We  do  not  know  Virtue  until  we  have  made 
the  demonstration.  For  in  simple  innocence  there 
is  no  virtue.  To  meet  temptation  and  conquer  it 
brings  out  your  virtue,  which  is  always  waiting  to 

239 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

be  demonstrated.  It  had  been  slumbering  within 
among  the  possibilities  of  your  being,  waiting 
your  demonstration,  before  it  could  be  yours  con- 
sciously. Do  not  undertake  to  overcome  by  quar- 
relling with  yourself,  by  righting  or  resisting  any 
department  of  your  nature.  That  is  the  human 
way.  But  Jesus  has  shown  us  a  more  excellent 
way  —  the  way  of  non-resistance  —  "  that  ye  resist 
not  evil."  By  non-resistance  the  Lie  disappears. 

Again  James  says:  "Count  it  all  joy,  when  ye 
fall  into  diverse  temptations."  Why?  Because 
"  the  trial  of  your  faith  worketh  patience "  — 
worketh  virtue. 

Every  force  in  the  universe  is  God-force.  Then 
you  may  thank  God  for  your  passions ;  they  are 
Divine  forces.  Their  highest  use  is  found  in 
their  conservation.  Here  they  give  great  power 
either  in  the  direction  of  physical,  intellectual,  or 
Spiritual  activities.  They  are  the  stored- up  en- 
ergy, which  will  not  desert  you  in  emergencies. 
When  we  recognize  God  in  them,  there  will  be  no 
evil  to  resist.  God  is  Good  in  all  his  manifold 
manifestations. 

When  you  recognize  God  in  everything,  then 
everything  will  have  a  blessing  for  you.  Every- 

240 


THE   THIRD   STEP 

thing  is  transformed  to  us  when  we  change  our 
thought  toward  it.  Evil  disappears  with  non-re- 
sistance. Evil  left  to  itself  destroys  itself. 

Why !  the  Good  itself  must  be  worked  out 
in  demonstration  before  it  is  proven  Good,  before 
it  is  our  Good.  In  this  unfoldment  we  are  to 
grow  out  of  the  consciousness  of  Good  and  Evil 
into  the  Consciousness  of  Good,  —  the  Evil  having 
disappeared  through  the  recognition  of  Good  in 
everything. 

To  the  victorious  there  is  no  evil.  Everything 
he  encounters  contributes  to  his  advancement,  and 
thus  proves  itself  Good  to  him. 

But  he  who  falls  under  temptation  has  plenty 
of  evil ;  because  he  believes  in  the  Reality  and 
Power  of  Evil. 

While  solving  these  problems  the  Master  Meta- 
physician and  Master  Demonstrator  "  fasted  forty 
days  "in  the  Wilderness.  The  "Wilderness"  of 
the  mind  is  the  "  desert  place  "  (the  silence).  All 
true  fasting  is  in  silence. 

By  fasting,  the  greatest  victories  are  won  in  the 
silence.  Fasting  from  food  is  a  means  for  puri- 
fying the  flesh,  and  is  usually  found  profitable 
in  purifying  the  blood  and  lymphatics,  and  clear- 

241 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

ing  the  brain,  —  thus  giving  better  health,  keener 
senses,  brighter  intellect,  and  keener  Spiritual  per- 
ceptions. 

Spiritual  fastings  are  means  for  purifying  the 
consciousness.  Abstaining  from  food  is  the  ex- 
ternal correspondent  of  true  fasting.  True  fasting 
is  abstaining  from  feeding  the  soul  on  impure,  car- 
nal-mind thoughts ;  while  all  the  powers  are  con- 
centrated on  eternal  principles  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  In  other  words,  it  is  persistently 
excluding  from  the  mind  the  "  mortal-mind  "  idea 
of  things,  and  as  persistently  adhering  to  the  Spirit- 
ual idea. 

Fastings  of  this  kind  continued  an  hour,  or  sev- 
eral hours,  carry  one  into  the  higher  altitudes, 
where  the  mind  receives  an  illumination  with  Spirit- 
ual realization.  When  all  the  confusions  of  the 
mind  are  dissipated,  the  inharmonies  of  the  body 
begin  to  disappear.  For  in  the  realization  of  pure 
Spirit  there  is  no  inharmony.  Not  only  for  the 
purifying  of  the  consciousness  is  fasting  necessary, 
but  in  the  healing  of  the  sick  it  will  often  be  found 
that  "  this  kind  goeth  not  out  save  by  prayer  and 
fasting,"  as  Jesus  said.  There  must  be  a  persist- 


242 


THE   THIRD    STEP 

ent  fasting  —  abiding  in  the  secret  place,  "  until 
the  shadows  be  overpast." 

Regarding  the  "  forty  days,"  there  is  a  mystical 
meaning  to  "40."  Its  factors  are  4  and  10  — 
4X  10;  and  10  is  the  number  that  denotes  All; 
because  all  significant  numbers  (i  to  9)  are  con- 
tained in  it.  When  multiplied  by  4,  the  number 
of  the  square,  it  signifies  all  in  completeness ;  be- 
cause the  square  is  a  perfect  figure  with  4  equal 
sides  and  4  equal  angles.  The  number  "40," 
then,  denotes  a  completed  and  perfected  experi- 
ence, without  regard  to  time.  Therefore  in  order 
to  a  perfect  unfoldment  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
full  and  complete  "Wilderness"  experience  be- 
fore we  are  capable  of  the  full  realization  of  the 
Christ  in  Consciousness. 

To  be  "tempted  of  the  devil."  The  "devil" 
is  not  an  external  foe.  It  is  the  Carnal  nature  — 
the  unregenerate  Carnal  Self,  always  the  enemy  of 
the  Spiritual  Self — the  "  satan  "  you  must  over- 
come and  cast  into  the  "  bottomless  pit "  of  un- 
reality —  nothingness.  "  Every  man  is  tempted 
when  he  is  drawn  aside  by  his  own  lusts  and  en- 
ticed," James  tells  us. 

To  unfold  the  Heavenly  Man  the  allurements, 
243 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

temptations,  and  illusions  of  the  Carnal  Self  must 
be  overcome.  This  is  the  work  in  the  "  Wilder- 
ness." For  the  mind  is  a  "  Wilderness ;  "  because 
unknown,  unproved,  and  undeveloped.  But  when 
this  work  is  finished,  the  "  Wilderness "  disap- 
pears. This  Spiritual  discipline  makes  it  "  blos- 
som as  the  rose." 

The  great  host  of  carnal-mind  thoughts,  enemies 
of  the  Spiritual,  are  in  the  Old  Testament  repre- 
sented by  the  "  Philistine  host ;  "  and  "  Goliath  " 
is  the  personification  of  the  whole.  The  slaying  of 
Goliath  by  the  demonstrator,  "  David,"  represents 
the  vanquishing  of  all  our  evil  thoughts,  by  dis- 
posing of  the  fictitious  "  devil  "  of  Carnal  Mind's 
creation.  When  this  is  accomplished  there  is  no 
enemy;  for  "  the  Philistines  fled." 

It  was  the  same  terrorizing,  braggart  Giant 
Jesus  met  in  the  Wilderness, — both  Wilderness 
and  Giant  being  within  his  own  breast.  The  one 
is  symbolic  of  the  other;  and  both  are  symbolic 
of  our  own  experiences.  It  is  your  own  wilder- 
ness, your  own  devil,  your  own  victory. 

In  the  two  allegories  there  is  a  striking  parallel- 
ism. The  one  defied  "David,"  a  type  of  Christ; 
the  other  defied  Jesus,  the  demonstrator  of  the 

244 


THE   THIRD    STEP 

Christ.  Each  antagonist  presented  himself  "  forty 
days."  In  both  cases  the  victory  was  absolute, 
and  there  remained  no  enemy. 

In  our  "  Wilderness  "  mind  what  is  this  terrible 
"  Philistine  "  Giant  Idea  or  false  belief  of  carnal 
mind,  embodying  the  whole  host  of  our  evil 
thoughts  as  a  champion?  It  is  manifestly  the  idea 
of  Reality  in  Evil.  For  when  we  have  slain  this 
"false  accuser,"  when  we  have  ruled  out  the  idea 
of  Reality  from  Evil,  it  will  have  no  Substance,  and 
must  disappear,  with  the  whole  host  of  falsities. 

There  is  an  eternal  and  indestructible  Substance 
to  all  Reality,  because  it  is  Divine.  But  Evil, 
having  no  Substance  of  Reality,  must  vanish  from 
consciousness  the  moment  we  discover  that  it  is 
but  an  empty  illusion  of  the  Carnal  Consciousness. 

If  you  would  be  free  from  the  power  of  evil,  you 
must  know  its  unreality  —  its  nothingness ;  that  it 
is  simply  a  false  claimant,  —  a  "  liar  from  the  be- 
ginning, who  stood  not  in  the  truth."  Then  if 
Evil  has  no  standing  in  the  realm  of  Truth 
(Reality),  then  it  belongs  in  the  phantasmal  realm 
of  falsity.  It  has  no  standing.  It  is  wholly  an 
Illusion  and  a  snare. 

Every  man  has  his  "  wilderness,"  which  involves 
245 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

more  than  what  is  called  temptation.  It  covers 
the  whole  realm  of  misconceptions  and  illusions, 
in  which  lurks  the  "  Lie  "  of  the  mortal  conscious- 
ness, — the  "  satan  that  deceiveth  the  nations." 

By  fidelity  to  Christ,  the  Principle  of  Reality  and 
Truth,  we  shall  be  able  to  work  our  way  out  of  this 
Wilderness  of  undetermined  values  into  the  clear 
light  of  understanding,  where  misconceptions  and 
illusions  do  not  obtain. 

According  to  Plato's  allegory,  all  mankind  are 
chained  in  a  rocky  cavern  with  their  faces  to  its 
mirror-like  wall  and  their  backs  to  the  cavern's 
mouth ;  so  that  they  never  saw  objects,  but  only 
their  reflections.  And  they  could  only  be  freed 
from  this  imprisonment  by  their  own  exertions, 
arousing  their  will  sufficiently  to  break  their  chains ; 
and  then,  by  turning  around  to  the  light,  for  the  first 
time  behold  real  objects  instead  of  their  reflections. 

Plato's  cave  is  the  sense  consciousness,  where 
we  are  bound  by  the  beliefs  of  the  race,  —  forever 
mistaking  illusion  for  Reality,  shadow  for  sub- 
stance. We  have  depended  on  the  eye,  which  has 
never  seen  Realities,  because  they  transcend  the 
plane  of  the  senses,  which  therefore  cannot  cognize 
them.  Realities  belong  to  a  plane  higher  than  the 

246 


THE   THIRD    STEP 

senses,  where  the  Spiritual  faculties  have  full  play. 
This  has  ever  been  the  teaching  of  the  Philoso- 
phers and  wise  men.  This  emancipation  does  not 
come  without  an  effort.  "  Who  would  be  free,  him- 
self must  strike  the  blow."  Whatever  you  would 
acquire  you  must  pay  the  price  of.  Things  with- 
out price  are  worth  nothing. 

Truth  is  never  to  be  found  at  the  "  bargain 
counter;"  "its  price  is  above  rubies,"  said  the 
Wise  man.  It  is  a  thing  of  eternal  duration  and 
priceless  value ;  and  the  full  price  must  always  be 
paid.  Sometimes  it  costs  us  very  bitter  experiences, 
a  great  price.  When  you  have  found  Truth,  you 
have  found  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Only 
the  Spiritual  man  can  know  the  Spiritual  Christ; 
and  only  the  Spiritual  man  knows  Truth.  The 
man  of  five  senses  takes  cognizance  of  "  appear- 
ances," which  he  calls  realities.  But  Realities  are 
never  seen  with  the  physical  eye.  To  understand 
the  eternal  verities  of  Being,  the  eternal  Realities, 
we  will  not  consult  the  senses ;  because  Realities 
transcend  the  sphere  of  the  senses.  Only  Spiritual 
senses  are  capable  of  cognizing  Spiritual  things. 

The  whole  "  Wilderness  "  story  is  a  wonderful 
allegory,  and  never  could  have  had  a  literal  enact- 

247 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

ment  in  all  details.  For  we  read  :  "  Again  the  devil 
taketh  him  up  into  an  exceedinghigh  mountain,  and 
showeth  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the 
glory  of  them  in  a  moment  of  time."  Now,  as 
there  is  no  "exceeding  high  mountain"  in  Pales- 
tine, and  as  "  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world " 
could  not  be  seen  from  any  mountain,  ever  so 
high,  only  the  Spiritual  sense  can  satisfy  the 
story.  The  "  exceeding  high  mountain  "  is  a  high 
altitude  of  thought.  We  must  not  think  that  only 
the  depraved  have  temptations.  There  are  planes 
of  temptation  corresponding  to  planes  of  develop- 
ment. The  higher  the  development  the  higher  the 
class  of  temptations.  And  so  in  "  the  exceeding 
high  mountain"  of  Consciousness  the  overmaster- 
ing temptation  of  an  insatiable  ambition  may  seize 
the  mind,  and  give  the  character  its  severest  test. 

To  carry  out  the  purposes  of  an  unscrupulous 
ambition  men  silence  the  voice  of  conscience,  and 
refuse  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Spirit.  They 
"  fall  down  and  worship  "  the  prince  of  this  world, 
—  the  spirit  of  worldly  power: 

Temptations  all  come  from  the  carnal  nature. 
But  through  Regeneration  that  whole  realm  of 
carnal  mind  is  to  be  redeemed  ultimately,  until 

248 


THE   THIRD    STEP 

"the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the 
Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ."  The  "  king- 
doms "  within  are  to  be  all  restored  to  the  one 
Kingdom  of  the  Christ.  The  confusions  and  con- 
flicts, tumults  and  wars  raging  among  the  discordant 
forces  within  shall  through  the  regenerating  power 
of  Truth  be  brought  into  subjection  to  the  Christ; 
so  that  in  the  final  consummation  "  all  shall  know 
him  from  the  least  to  the  greatest."  This  will  be  the 
perfect  at-one-ment,  the  ultimate  end  of  Regenera- 
tion, which  has  been  attained  through  overcoming. 

Thus  your  Son-ship,  so  clearly  revealed  in  the 
last  lesson,  you  have  now  clearly  demonstrated  to 
yourself  by  mastering  and  overcoming  "  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil." 

You  have  unfolded  the  Christ  within,  until  you 
have  the  Consciousness  of  the  Christ,  where  you 
are  consciously  one  with  the  Father.  Christ  is 
now  a  matter  of  Consciousness  to  you. 

In  the  previous  lesson  you  attained  to  "  the 
measure  of  the  Stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ," 
and  received  the  Spirit's  witness  and  approval. 
Now  you  have  demonstrated  in  experience  all  that 
the  Spirit  there  revealed.  Your  Christ-hood  now 
stands  demonstrated  to  yourself. 

249 


X 


THE   FOURTH   STEP  :  —  THE  DEMONSTRATIONS   OF 
THE  ADEPT 

"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  he 
hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor ; 

"  He  hath  sent  me  to  Heal  the  broken-hearted; 

*«  To  preach  deliverance  to  the  Captive  ; 

«•  And  recovering  of  Sight  to  the  Blind ; 

"  To  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised ; 

"  To  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord." 

"  This  day  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears."  —  Lu. 
4: 18,  19,  21. 

EVERY  prophecy  has  two  fulfilments.  The  first 
is  exoteric,  the  second  esoteric.  This  prophecy 
of  Isaiah  was  primarily  fulfilled  in  Jesus ;  and  its 
secondary  fulfilment  is  in  the  Consciousness. 

Accordingly  "This  Day" — the  day  or  state 
of  your  present  unfoldment  —  having  taken  the 
Three  First  Steps  perfectly,  and  having  demon- 
strated your  Son-ship — you  are  to  make  the 
further  and  higher  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  in 

250 


THE    FOURTH    STEP 

becoming  the  messenger  of  the  Spirit  in  "  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  to  the  poor,"  and  Healing  the 
Sick,  —  doing  the  "  mighty  works  "  in  demonstra- 
tion of  your  proficiency  as  an  Adept  of  the  Order 
of  Christ  —  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Sons  of  God. 

In  the  Path  of  the  Adept,  or  the  Christ  Way, 
you  have  taken  the  Three  Initiatory  Steps  in  Re- 
generation, initiating  you  into  the  Christ-Con- 
ciousness. 

The  "  First  Step "  was  the  Conception  and 
Birth  of  the  CHRIST  in  Consciousness ;  so  that  a 
"  New  Creation  "  in  consciousness  is  begun. 

You  have  begun  the  creation  of  your  "  New 
Heavens  and  New  Earth;  "  which  signifies  that  a 
New  Consciousness  is  opening  to  you.  The 
"  Second  Step  "  was  the  Youth  Period,  —  the 
period  of  Growth  in  and  through  Wisdom.  So 
you  "  increased  in  Wisdom  and  Stature,"  until 
you  unfolded  full  Christ-Manhood  —  "  the  Stature 
of  Christ;"  in  the  conscious  realization  of 
which  you  received  the  Spirit's  enduement  or 
Baptism,  where  your  True  Self  was  revealed  to 
you,  after  the  renunciation  of  the  Carnal  Self 
(which  is  repentance). 

Then  the  welcome  plaudit,  "  This  is  My  Be- 
251 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

loved  Son,"  reverberated  in  Consciousness.  This 
was  your  initiatory  entrance  into  the  Christ-Con- 
sciousness. 

The  "  Third  Step  "  was  the  period  of  Testing 
and  Proving.  And  it  was  here  that,  what  the 
Spirit  had  revealed,  you  had  to  demonstrate  to 
yourself  in  practical  life  by  overcoming  all  things 
of  the  carnal  nature  in  the  realm  of  subconscious 
mind. 

This  was  both  an  intellectual  and  Spiritual 
process,  where  you  used  Reason,  Will,  and  Spir- 
itual Insight  to  make  the  wise  distinction  between 
Truth  and  Falsity,  Reality  and  Illusion.  You 
found  that  temptations  lose  their  power  when 
you  realize  that  both  the  tempter  and  the  temp- 
tation are  illusions  of  the  Mortal  Consciousness, 
having  no  real  existence  in  the  realm  of  true 
Being. 

But  notwithstanding  the  wonderful  experiences 
of  Baptism  and  the  Wilderness,  you  are  not  yet 
perfected.  You  have  still  higher  demonstrations 
to  make  before  you  realize  the  full  glories  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  the  principles  of  which 
shall  govern  your  whole  life. 

The  "  Fourth  Step  "  is  where  we  take  up  the 
252 


THE    FOURTH    STEP 

subject  of  Preaching  the  Gospel  of  Salvation  and 
Health. 

Salvation  is  the  perfect  Restoration  of  the  whole 
Man,  Soul  and  Body. 

We  must  do  the  "  mighty  works  "  in  demonstra- 
tion of  our  Adept-ship,  —  our  proficiency  in  Spir- 
itual Understanding. 

Regeneration  does  not  come  from  an  intellectual 
assent  to  the  doctrines  of  Christ;  but  from  the 
practical  application  of  those  doctrines  and  prin- 
ciples to  heart  and  life,  —  from  living  the  life.  The 
important  question  is  not,  how  much  of  the  intel- 
lectual formulae  of  Truth  we  know,  but  how  much 
we  have  appropriated  and  demonstrated.  Thus 
the  demonstration  of  Truth  becomes  a  matter  of 
great  importance,  as  it  is  the  index  of  our  unfold- 
ment.  Every  statement  of  Truth  is  demonstrable  ; 
else  we  have  no  guarantee  of  its  genuineness. 
Hence  we  call  every  case  of  healing  and  every 
case  of  reform,  through  Spiritual  means,  a  demon- 
stration ;  because  there  is  a  principle  demonstrated 
thereby.  When  you  have  healed  a  case  of  dyspep- 
sia, what  is  the  principle  demonstrated  ?  It  is 
always  the  Principle  of  CHRIST  in  man.  For  ac- 
cording to  this  teaching  you  have  claimed  for  your 

253 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

patient  that,  because  he  is  a  Son  of  God,  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  Divinity  in  him  he  cannot  be 
sick;  that  this  dyspepsia  is  a  false  idea,  a  mere 
"  belief"  or  illusion  of  the  mortal  consciousness, 
entirely  foreign  to  the  True  Man,  the  Son  of 
God. 

If  by  awakening  in  him  the  consciousness  of  his 
Divine  perfection  you  overcome  this  false  claim  of 
dyspepsia,  then  you  have  demonstrated  your  prop- 
osition that  he  is  Divine.  Dyspepsia  was  a  false 
"belief"  of  a  false  consciousness,  —  and  Truth 
recognized  set  him  free.  This  was  the  demonstra- 
tion of  the  principle  of  Truth.  Jesus  said,  "  Ye 
shall  know  the  Truth ;  and  the  Truth  shall  make 
you  free."  How  can  Truth  set  you  free?  By 
the  thorough  appropriation  of  it,  until  you  "  know 
it."  You  have  the  demonstration  of  Truth  by 
and  through  knowing  it. 

Before  entering  upon  our  work  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  of  Righteousness  and  Health,  we  have  im- 
portant preliminary  work  to  do.  The  preliminary 
work  our  Representative  performed,  before  enter- 
ing upon  his  mission,  was  the  calling  of  his  Twelve 
Apostles,  saying  to  them  :  "  Follow  Me." 

It  is  fundamental  to  the  understanding  of  the 
254 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

full  value  to  us  of  the  significance  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  the  Christ  to  know  that  his  life  was  a  typi- 
cal or  parabolic  life  —  in  all  details  a  symbolic  life, 
given  to  picture  our  Spiritual  Course  in  Regenera- 
tion —  the  unfoldment  of  the  Christ  in  Conscious- 
ness. This  seems  to  have  been  what  he  had 
reference  to,  when  he  said :  "  I  Am  the  WAY." 

Since,  then,  the  Christ  is  within,  all  experiences 
of  the  allegoric  Christ,  as  manifest  in  Jesus,  must 
have  their  Spiritual  correspondence  within,  —  all 
things  of  the  Christ  are  to  be  found  within,  be- 
cause "  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  you." 

We  shall  find  the  "Twelve  Apostles"  there. 
The  Metaphysical  "  Twelve  Apostles  "  of  the  mind 
are  its  Twelve  Great  Powers. 

Before  we  undertake  to  advance  further  in  the 
Christ  Work,  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Salvation 
and  Health,  we  must  call  these  Twelve  Great  Pow- 
ers to  "  follow  the  ME"  —  the  Christ  within.  Not 
until  then  are  we  following  Christ  with  all  our 
powers. 

What  are  the  Twelve  Great  Powers  of  the  Mind? 

We  find  the  first  five  have  place  or  expression 
on  three  planes  of  consciousness,  Body,  Soul, 
and  Spirit,  and  the  others  on  two  planes. 

25S 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 
THE   METAPHYSICAL    TWELVE   APOSTLES. 

I.,  —  SIMON  (one  who  hears)  —  obviously  refers  to 
the  Sense  of  Hearing  on  the  physical  plane,  to  the  fun- 
damental Faculty  of  Faith  on  the  Mental  or  Soul  plane, 
and  to  Spiritual  Hearing  on  the  Spiritual  plane.  Call- 
ing the  Senses  and  Faculties  to  follow  the  Christ  signifies 
awakening  to  the  consciousness  of  the  interior  Spiritual 
Senses  and  Faculties  corresponding,  which  only  the 
Christ  can  call  out. 

For  without  the  Christ-awakening  we  live  only  in 
the  physical  Senses.  But  knowing  our  Sonship,  hence- 
forth we  must  use  all  our  Spiritual  Faculties,  as  Sons  of 
God. 

But  Hearing  necessarily  implies  Obedience.  We 
hear  but  to  obey ;  else  what  avails  it  to  hear  ?  Hearing 
and  obedience  are  the  fundamental  basis  of  Faith. 
Wherefore  Simon  stands  for  Faith. 

Significantly  Paul  tells  us  that  "  Faith  comes  by  Hear- 
ing, and  Hearing  by  the  Word  of  God"  Without  Hear- 
ing there  were  no  Faith,  and  without  the  Word  there 
were  no  Hearing. 

Moreover  Paul  says :  "  Faith  is  the  substance  (sub- 
stans — foundation  basis)  of  things  hoped  for."  Then, 
since  Faith  is  the  foundation  of  all  our  hopes,  Simon,  its 
correspondent,  is  surnamed  " Peter  "  (Rock)  —  "Thou 
art  Peter,  and  on  this  Rock  will  I  build  my  Church" 
The  Church  within  is  the  Christ-Consciousness,  of  which 
Faith  is  the  bed-rock  foundation.  This  is  the  "  Church 
within  thy  house." 

The  Christ  awakens  this  Faculty  from  its  sphere  of 
external  functioning  to  its  higher  sphere  of  internal 

256 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

functioning,  on  the  Spiritual  plane,  and  the  True  Hearing 
or  Spiritual  Communion  is  established. 

II.,  —  ANDREW  —  refers   to   the  Sense   of   Sight. 

For  the  first  mention  of  him  is  where  John  the  Baptist 
said  to  him,  "  Behold  7  "  —  that  is,  See  .'  —  See  Spirit- 
ually !  —  See  the  Christ !  —  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God.' "  "  Andrew  "  stands  for  the  Sense  of  Sight,  and 
the  mental  Faculty  of  Trustful  Recognition,  Confidence 
or  Credulity.  It  is  that  Faculty  that  never  doubts,  and 
is  therefore  quickest  to  discern  and  accept  the  Christ. 
For  him,  to  see  is  to  believe  —  to  know.  After  accept- 
ing he  immediately  brought  his  brother,  Simon,  who  also 
accepted  and  followed. 

Thus  Trustfulness  precedes  and  leads  to  Faith,  and  is 
first  in  order  in  mental  action,  though  Faith  is  first  in 
the  order  of  importance.  Wherefore  Simon  Peter  is  the 
First  Apostle. 

But  Trust  must  not  be  confounded  with  Faith.  They 
are  much  alike  —  kindred  Faculties.  Simon  and  Andrew 
are  Brothers.  The  call  of  the  Christ  awakens  Spiritual 
Perception. 

III.,  —  JAMES  —  refers  to  the  Sense  of  Smell,  and 

IV.,  —  JOHN  —  refers  to  the  Sense  of  Taste.  These 
are  very  delicate  Senses.  As  Smell  discerns  quality  at 
a  distance,  it  stands  for  Hope,  and  as  Taste  discerns 
quality  of  what  it  receives,  it  stands  for  Love.  And 
these  are  kindred  Faculties ;  James  and  John  are 
Brothers.  They  received  the  surname,  "  Boanerges"  — 
"  Sons  of  thunder  "  —  lightning,  because  "  able  to  bring 
down  Fire  from  Heaven;"  showing  that  Hope  and 
Love  working  together  have  power  to  bring  down  from 

257 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Heaven  the  "  Consuming  Fire  "  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  O, 
taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good."  The  call  of  the 
Christ  awakens  the  heavenly  Hope  and  Divine  Love. 

V.,— PHILIP  — denotes  the  Sense  of  Touch.  To 
the  object  tested  this  Sense  bears  a  different  relation 
from  the  others,  whose  action  is  outward.  By  this  you 
are  directly  in  touch  with  it  —  united  with  it ;  you  stand 
upon  it.  Consequently  Philip  refers  to  the  Understanding. 
Moreover  "Philip"  means  a  lover  of  horses ;  and  in 
metaphysics  the  "  horse  "  refers  to  the  Understanding 
or  Judgment.  Always  use  your  Good  Common  Sense. 

The  Christ  calls  your  Soul  Faculty  of  Sound  Judg- 
ment to  function  on  the  Spiritual  plane,  that  you  may 
come  in  touch  with  God  and  be  conscious  of  his  sustain- 
ing presence.  Spiritual  Touch  gives  conscious  at-one- 
ment  with  God  —  "  /  and  the  Father  are  One." 

VI.,  —  BARTHOLOMEW  or  Nathaniel—  represents 
a  higher  Faculty  than  the  Five  Senses,  —  one  that  does 
not  function  on  the  physical  plane.  This  internal  Sense 
is  Intuition  —  a  Faculty  of  the  Spiritual  man,  which, 
existing  on  the  plane  of  Christ,  is  perceived  by  the 
Christ :  "  Before  Philip  called  thee,  while  thou  wast  under 
the  fig-tree  I  saw  thee"  The  Spiritual  nature  of  this 
Faculty  is  indicated  by  the  term,  "  Israelite  "  :  —  "  Be- 
hold an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile"  On  the 
mental  plane  it  perceives  the  thought  of  man ;  on  the 
Spiritual  plane  it  perceives  the  Wisdom  of  God.  It  is 
absolutely  reliable  (without  guile).  With  the  Christ- 
awakening  we  are  conscious  of  possessing  and  using  it. 

VII.,  — THOMAS  —  stands  for  another  Faculty 
higher  than  the  Five  Senses.  This  highest  Faculty  is 
Inspiration.  It  is  the  Faculty  which  is  capable  of  receiv- 
ing and  possessing  Celestial  Wisdom,  and  thus  of  know- 
ing God.  In  its  full  and  perfect  development  it  is 
Omniscience  or  God-Consciousness.  On  the  mental  or 
Soul  plane  it  corresponds  to  Intellect  and  its  function, 
Reason,  whose  initial  step  is  Doubt.  Hence  Thomas 

258 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

is  the  Doubter.  A  good  doubter  is  a  good  reasoner. 
To  resolve  the  Doubt  is  Reason's  province.  When  the 
Doubt  disappears  through  the  demonstration  of  Reason, 
the  Soul  exclaims,  "  My  Lord  and  my  God''  And  this 
shows  that  the  Spiritual  function  of  this  Faculty  is  to 
know  God,  when  it  is  called  out  by  the  Christ. 

Thus  Intuition  perceives  Divine  Wisdom,  while  Inspira- 
tion receives  and  appropriates  it,  thus  developing  God- 
Consciousness. 

VIII.,  — MATTHEW  — stands  for  the  Faculty  of 
Acquisitiveness.  On  the  human  plane  it  accumulates 
worldly  Riches.  On  the  Spiritual  plane  it  accumulates 
Spiritual  Riches.  This  "  Tax-gatherer "  of  the  Soul 
makes  every  experience  pay  a  Tax  in  Wisdom,  the 
Spiritual  correspondent  of  Silver.  For  as  the  Romans 
made  every  man,  every  horse,  tree  or  other  taxable 
thing  pay  a  Tax  in  Silver,  so  this  Faculty  in  us  makes 
every  experience  and  observation  pay  us  a  Tax  in 
Wisdom ;  that  we  may  accumulate  the  true  Riches  of 
the  Kingdom,  and  ultimately  through  Matthew's  faithful- 
ness attain  to  conscious  Spiritual  Opulence.  Every 
experience  is  good,  if  we  learn  its  lesson  —  if  Matthew 
collects  his  Tax.  Solomon  refers  to  this  Spiritual  Faculty 
in  Proverbs :  "  Wisdom  is  the  principal  thing ;  there- 
fore get  Wisdom,  and  with  all  thy  getting  (accumulating) 
get  Understanding." 

IX., — JAMES  of  Alpheus  —  otherwise  called  "James 
the  Just,"  -—refers  to  the  principle  of  Justice,  or  con- 
scious Righteousness  —  a  Divine  attribute  in  us,  belong- 
ing to  the  Spiritual  plane,  and  responsive  to  the  call  of 
the  Christ,  that  it  may  be  manifested  in  external  life. 
And  since  this  "James"  was  a  kindred  of  Jesus  it  fol- 
lows that  Justice  in  external  life  is  kindred  to  Righteous- 
ness in  consciousness.  Consequently  Jeremiah  said, 
"The  Lord  (Christ)  our  Righteousness."  The  call  of 
the  Christ  brings  the  Righteousness  of  Christ  into  exter- 
nal life  in  the  form  of  Justice  in  our  dealings  with  men. 

259 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

X.,  —  LEBBEUS,  Thadtleus  or  Judas  (Jude)  —  stands 
for  Courage,  inasmuch  as  both  "  Lebbeus  "  and  "Thad- 
deus  "  mean  courageous.  And  since  this  is  "Judas  the 
brother  of  James,"  it  follows  that  conscious  Righteous- 
ness is  next  o'kin  to  Courage.  For  true  Courage 
springs  from  conscious  rectitude  (Righteousness).  Call 
it  into  the  service  of  the  Christ.  It  requires  the  same 
courage  to  do  battle  with  Spiritual  forces  within  or  with- 
out as  to  face  the  serried  hosts  of  the  battlefield. 

XI., — Simon  the  Caanaite  (Heb.  caana,  zealous)  — 
called  "  zelotes,"  "  the  Zealot,"  —  stands  for  Zeal,  Enthu- 
siasm, Eloquence  ;  —  a  Faculty  quite  as  essential  to  suc- 
cess in  Spiritual  work  as  in  any  other  sphere.  Human 
Zeal  contains  much  of  passion  and  impure  motive,  while 
Spiritual  Zeal  is  the  Fire  from  Heaven,  the  "  Zeal  of  the 
Lord."  When  the  Christ  calls  out  the  Heavenly  Zeal, 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  manifest.  "  There 
appeared  tongues  of  fire  that  sat  upon  each  of  them," 
This  is  the  Fire  which  James  and  John  had  power  to 
bring  down  from  Heaven.  He  who  preaches  in  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit  calls  down  the  Fire  from  Heaven 
—  the  Divine  Zeal,  the  Holy  Ghost. 

XII.,  —  Judas —  denotes  the  Business  Faculty,  because 
he  was  the  business  man  of  that  company  of  thirteen. 
On  the  Spiritual  plane  "Judas"  means  praise  of  God — 
the  bestower  of  blessings.  For  he  it  was  who  received 
all  monies,  purchased  things  needful  for  their  use,  and 
bestowed  all  benefactions  upon  the  poor.  And  when 
Mary  broke  the  "  alabaster  box  of  ointment  "  it  was 
Judas  who  saw  the  unbusiness  feature  of  the  act,  and 
said,  "  This  ointment  might  have  been  sold  for  more 
than  three  hundred  pence  and  given  to  the  poor."  He 
loved  to  bless  the  poor,  as  his  name  suggests,  notwith- 
standing the  parenthetical  interpolation  to  the  contrary. 
He  was  a  capable  and  worthy  disciple,  until  "Satan 
entered  into  him" — or  temptation  overcame  him, — 
until  Avarice  entered  in. 

260 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

So  if  through  handling  money  Avarice,  the  "  root  of 
all  evil  "  is  developed,  —  this  is  the  "thief"  which  will 
betray  the  Christ  —  "betray  the  Son  of  man  into  the 
hands  of  sinners."  Which  brings  consternation  to  the 
whole  mind,  scattering  all  its  forces,  through  fear  and 
dismay.  "They  all  forsook  him  and  fled."  Neverthe- 
less the  Christ  triumphs.  And  the  triumph  of  the 
Christ  is  the  death  of  Avarice.  So  Judas  hangs  himself. 
—  Error  left  to  itself  destroys  itself;  the  seeds  of  disin- 
tegration are  in  it.  But  this  does  not  mean  the  loss  of  a 
Faculty.  Only  the  perversion  has  perished. 

In  the  Consciousness  of  the  Resurrection  this  Faculty 
will  reappear  in  regenerated  form  as  "  Matthias "  (the 
Gift  of  God).  "They  chose  another  to  take  the 
place  of  him  who  through  transgression  fell;  and 
the  lot  fell  on  Matthias,  and  he  was  numbered  with 
the  Twelve." 

When  you  become  a  renewed  and  resurrected 
man,  Avarice  will  have  fallen  out  of  your  Con- 
sciousness and  you  will  recognize  your  Business 
Faculty  as  "  the  Gift  of  God."  For  you  are  an 
entirely  "  New  Man  in  Christ  Jesus." 

These  "  Twelve  Apostles  "  of  the  mind  are  each 
and  every  one  essential  to  success  on  every  plane 
of  activity.  When  they  are  called  to  follow 
Christ,  they  insure  success  in  every  department  of 
life. 

Among  them  the  First  Four  are  the  Chief 
Powers.  They  are  Faith,  Confidence,  Hope,  and 
Love.  These  are  the  "  Fishers"  of  the  mind  ;  be- 

261 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

cause  like  fishermen  they  have  power  to  draw  to 
you  whatever  you  desire.  They  bring  to  pass; 
they  bring  success.  Their  greater  importance  is 
seen  in  the  fact  that  they  were  the  first  called. 

In  all  Christian  work  they  will  be  required  in  all 
undertakings. 

Faith  you  must  have  in  God,  faith  in  yourself, 
faith  in  the  working  of  the  Law  of  the  Lord. 

Confidence  you  must  have  in  yourself  and  in 
others,  Confidence  in  your  undertakings. 

In  Hope  you  must  be  strong  and  buoyant.  For 
"  Hope  is  like  an  anchor  to  the  soul." 

"  In  Love  be  rooted  and  grounded."  For  Love 
is  the  strongest  power  in  the  universe.  Being 
yourself  centred  in  Love,  you  will  radiate  Love 
with  its  wonderful  transforming  power.  Trust 
expectantly  to  the  working  of  the  Law.  This 
expectancy  will  set  it  working.  Doubt  will  defeat 
you  everywhere  ;  Faith  will  make  you  a  conqueror 
everywhere.  Without  the  constant  use  of  these 
Chief  powers  you  cannot  succeed. 

For  "without  Faith  it  is  impossible  to  please 
God." 

Without  Confidence  you  cannot  have  Faith. 

Without  Hope  you  are  in  Despair. 
262 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

Without  Love  you  are  separated  from  your 
work. 

Doubt  will  render  Faith  void. 

Fear  will  destroy  Confidence. 

Discouragement  will  defeat  Hope. 

Disinterestedness  will  disintegrate  the  bond  of 
Love. 

The  more  Love  you  put  into  your  work,  the 
greater  will  be  your  power.  In  the  Spiritual 
world  Love  answers  to  gravitation.  For  it  draws 
all  things  unto  itself.  It  is  a  great  conqueror. 

We  have  shown  that  disease  is  the  out-pictur- 
ing of  error.  Then  should  not  the  cleansing  of 
the  mind  of  its  errors  tend  to  remove  the  error 
expression?  Certainly,  and  by  natural  law.  The 
same  law  which  brought  error  into  manifestation 
in  the  form  of  fits-ease  may  be  employed  to  bring 
Truth  into  expression  in  the  form  of  Health.  If 
by  functioning  in  error  and  sin  I  am  reaping  the 
bitter  fruit  of  my  unwise  sowing,  by  reform  and  a 
persistent  functioning  in  Truth  and  purity  of 
thought  shall  I  not  root  up  the  noxious  weeds? 

Do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  revelling  in  sin- 
ful thought  is  a  harmless  amusement  as  long  as 
your  external  deportment  is  correct.  For  Thought 

263 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

is  the  only  maker  of  bodily  conditions,  and  your 
body  must  correctly  represent  you,  as  you  are  in 
mind  —  not  as  you  seem. 

Now  that  we  have  disposed  of  the  Devil,  there 
is  no  excuse  for  sin,  because  we  have  no  Devil  to 
fall  back  on.  We  are  directly  responsible  our- 
selves to  ourselves  for  every  thought  and  act. 
Neither  can  we  be  concealed  from  ourselves  nor 
from  the  world.  Our  secret  life,  though  artfully 
concealed,  is  sure  to  disclose  our  real  character 
openly  sooner  or  later.  "Whatsoever  ye  have 
spoken  in  darkness  shall  be  heard  in  the  light; 
and  that  which  ye  have  whispered  in  the  ear  in 
closets  shall  be  proclaimed  on  the  housetops." 

We  have  arrived  at  a  time  when  we  must  be 
ashamed  to  be  sick.  As  the  red  nose  is  the  sign 
the  toper  hangs  out,  so  our  diseases  are  the  sign 
we  constantly  hang  out,  "  proclaiming  on  the 
housetop  "  the  inward  character.  "  Ye  are  epistles 
known  and  read  of  all  men."  Therefore  the  wise 
practitioner  of  "  mental  science "  will  study  to 
diagnose  the  case  from  the  standpoint  of  mental 
causation,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  new 
psychology. 

When  the  New  Psychology  is  written  and 
264 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

taught  in  our  schools,  so  that  the  rising  genera- 
tion shall  understand  that  they  cannot  escape 
from  the  effects  of  their  thoughts,  and  that  they 
shall  be  constantly  on  exhibition,  there  will  be 
less  incentive  to  a  life  of  sin,  because  all  will 
understand  that  it  is  to  every  one's  self-interest  to 
be  virtuous  and  pure.  We  are  coming  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  d?.y  when  a  new  reform,  based  on 
wise  instruction,  shall  be  instituted. 

The  world  has  been  materialistic  in  thought ; 
so  have  the  schools.  We  have  studied  matter 
from  the  standpoint  of  matter,  and  we  have 
studied  the  body  from  the  same  standpoint ;  with 
the  result  that  our  educated  physicians  have  been 
treating  effects  instead  of  looking  for  mental 
causes. 

If  hard  feelings  and  bitterness  toward  my  neigh- 
bor is  the  cause  of  my  rheumatism,  —  where  the 
acidity  of  thought  has  produced  the  acid  condi- 
tions, —  why  not  go  at  once  to  the  source  of  the 
difficulty,  and  teach  me  how  to  eradicate  the  fault 
from  my  heart  and  life,  —  by  putting  the  sweet- 
ness of  Love  into  my  life,  as  the  universal  antacid, 
instead  of  dosing  my  innocent  stomach  with  the 
concoctions  of  the  apothecary?  Can  you  physic 

265 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Hate  and  Bitterness  out  of  a  man?  If  the  melan- 
choly habit  is  the  cause  of  my  torpid  liver,  why 
not  go  at  once  to  the  mental  cause  and  help  me 
out  of  my  mental  rut,  instead  of  dosing  my  inno- 
cent stomach  and  my  already  over-burdened  liver 
with  jalap  and  calomel?  Wise  instruction  and 
reform  is  what  I  am  suffering  for.  I  need  to  be 
taught  the  art  of  true  living;  that  is  all. 

The  physician  of  the  future  must  be  the  man  of 
Wisdom  and  Virtue.  Spiritual  enlightenment  is  to 
be  the  medicine  of  the  Twentieth  Century.  Drugs 
will  have  their  place  in  the  museum  beside  the 
fossils  of  a  rude  age.  When  men  know  God  more 
fully,  and  live  in  Him  consciously,  and  have  a  su- 
preme faith  in  Him  —  instead  of  in  drugs  —  they 
will  find  him  to  be  indeed  "  The  Great  Physician, 
who  forgiveth  all  thy  sins  and  healeth  all  thy 
diseases." 

In  tracing  diseases  to  their  real  causes  in  mind 
we  shall  find  the  remedy  in  the  removal  of  the 
mental  state,  which  has  borne  the  bitter  fruit.  In 
the  mental  spring  of  all  our  experiences  the  "  belief 
in  evil "  has  tinctured  all  our  thoughts  and  poi- 
soned the  lymphatics  and  blood  ;  until  "  the  whole 
head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart  faint;"  and  what 

266 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

marvel  that  the  despairing  cry  is  heard,  "  Is  there 
no  Balm  in  Gilead,  is  there  no  physician  there?" 
Yes,  Christ,  the  "  Great  Physician,"  is  within,  and 
may  at  all  times  be  appealed  to,  —  Christ,  the 
Principle  of  Divinity,  the  Principle  of  Truth,  the 
Quickening  Life-essence  may  be  found  available 
in  every  time  of  need. 

Like  Elisha  we  must  throw  the  purifying  "  salt" 
of  Truth  into  the  "spring"  source  of  experiences, 
if  the  waters  of  life  are  bitter. 

Truth  is  the  healing  principle  —  the  "  salt," 
which  will  correct  the  "  bitter  waters  "  of  life.  Then 
Truth  is  what  we  want.  We  want  to  realize  the 
Truth  of  what  we  are  —  the  Truth  of  our  Being, 
namely,  that  we  are  even  now  perfect  Sons  of 
God.  The  realization  of  this  has  power  to  set  us 
free,  whatever  the  senses  say  to  the  contrary.  To 
follow  the  testimony  of  the  senses  is  to  remain 
in  bondage.  Deliverance  from  the  bondages,  in 
which  the  error  consciousness  has  involved  us,  must 
come  from  a  source  higher  than  the  senses. 

Since  the  higher  kingdom  has  full  power  over 
the  lower,  you  must  take  your  stand  in  the  higher 
—  in  the  Spiritual,  ignoring  for  the  time  the 

senses ;  and  through  the  realization  of  the  Spirit- 

267 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

ual  you  may  dominate  and  rule  the  physical  king- 
dom which  lies  below  it. 

The  power  of  Spirit  over  matter  is  absolute, 
when  you  realize  and  know  it,  —  knowing  your- 
self to  be  a  Spiritual  Being  with  full  powers. 

You  will  not  do  good  work  while  recognizing 
the  phenomenal  as  the  real,  nor  by  seeing  your- 
self both  Spiritual  and  material,  —  assuming  for 
yourself  Spirituality,  yet  recognizing  yourself  as 
material,  in  continuing  to  live  carnally  —  assum- 
ing the  highest,  yet  not  living  there  —  still  cher- 
ishing the  passions,  resentments,  and  secret  sins 
of  the  old  life.  It  is  not  easy  to  obliterate  every 
vestige  of  these  illusions ;  yet  purity  of  heart  and 
Spirituality  of  thought  are  the  key  to  power  in  the 
Spirit's  work.  You  cannot  handle  Divine  things 
with  unwashed  hands.  You  cannot  lead  a  double 
life  and  be  the  servant  of  the  Spirit,  a  prophet  of 
the  Lord.  Perfect  work  is  done  by  being  in  the 
Spiritual  Consciousness,  which  involves  cutting 
off  things  of  the  lower  plane.  Because  the  Prophet 
is  always  the  "  Man  of  God  "  —  God's  Man,  who 
has  no  fellowship  with  works  of  darkness;  and 
healing  is  preeminently  the  work  of  the  man  of 

God. 

268 


THE    FOURTH    STEP 

No  one  has  a  corner  on  Truth;  though  occa- 
sionally the  "  mortal  mind  "  reveals  itself  in  some 
one  claiming  to  be  the  only  ordained  channel. 
God  has  no  favorites.  You  are  as  truly  a  Son  of 
God  as  any  other,  having  the  same  infinite  possi- 
bilities and  the  same  Spiritual  powers ;  and  you 
are  just  as  capable  of  making  high  demonstra- 
tions. To  every  one  who  lives  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  oneness  with  God,  the  Father  says: 
"  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  me,  and  all  that  I  have  is 
thine,"  —  all  the  riches  of  his  Grace,  the  fulness 
of  his  Love,  the  perfection  of  his  Being  and  right- 
eousness. In  order  to  reach  the  realization  of  all 
this,  it  is  necessary  to  live  in  the  contemplation  of 
yourself  as  a  Spiritual  Being,  —  as  such  possess- 
ing all  these  perfections. 

This  meditation  will  after  a  time  bring  a  change 
in  consciousness  in  the  direction  of  the  Spiritual. 
The  regenerating  process  is  going  on ;  and  will  in 
due  time  work  a  corresponding  bodily  change. 
Great  changes  in  the  physical  realm  must  follow 
this  mental  regeneration  as  a  natural  result  of  the 
renewal  of  the  mind.  For  the  greatest  essential 
to  good  work  is  a  purified  and  regenerated  soul. 

There  is  a  legend  that  the  Prophet  of  Galilee 
269 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

being  asked  when  the  kingdom  of  heaven  would 
come,  replied :  "  When  Two  shall  become  One ; 
when  the  Without  shall  become  as  the  Within." 

"The  Within"  is  the  True  Self — your  True 
Being  —  the  Divine  Son;  "the  Without"  is  the 
False  Self,  the  unregenerate  Son  of  Man  with  his 
bodily  expression.  The  "  Two  become  One," 
when  through  regeneration  the  Human  Self  has 
become  "  transformed  into  the  image  of  the 
heavenly;  "  so  that  the  consciousness  of  duality 
disappears. 

There  is  always  the  appearance  of  duality  in 
consciousness.  We  speak  of  the  "  Natural  man  " 
and  the  "  Spiritual  man"  as  if  we  were  two. 

There  is  a  consciousness  of  the  Human  and  a 
semi-consciousness  of  the  Divine  always  with  us  — 
the  Divine  being  usually  somewhat  in  the  back- 
ground. It  is  our  problem  and  demonstration  to 
bring  forward  into  the  foreground  of  consciousness 
the  Divine  element,  until  it  becomes  the  dominant 
element — the  dominant  Consciousness. 

This  is  Salvation  —  God  in  Consciousness.  This 
is  Regeneration  —  man  becoming  in  Consciousness 
Divine,  —  the  Human  element  being  transformed 
and  Redeemed. 

270 


THE   FOURTH    STEP 

The  Kingdom  of  Israel  was  originally  One 
united  kingdom  of  "  Twelve  Tribes,"  —  all  faithful 
and  true.  But  through  Idolatry  the  kingdom 
became  divided,  Ten  Tribes  revolting,  and  the 
Tribe  of  Benjamin  disappearing  by  absorption,  — 
with  the  result  of  Two  kingdoms,  the  "  Kingdom 
ofjudah,"  and  the  "Kingdom  of  Israel,  " — the 
former  of  One  Tribe  —  Judah,  still  faithful  and 
true ;  and  the  latter  of  Ten  Tribes  —  still  claiming 
the  worship  of  Jehovah,  though  having  the  image 
of  the  Egyptian  Calf  set  up  in  its  Temple,  to  sym- 
bolize the  intellectual  Creed,  through  which  the 
individual  worships  Jehovah  (the  Calf  is  a  symbol 
of  Intellect). 

Under  this  beautiful  historical  allegory  is  repre- 
sented our  experience  in  consciousness,  in  de- 
scending from  the  high  plane  of  the  Spiritual, 
where  the  number  "  Twelve "  stands  for  the 
Spiritual  Consciousness  in  its  completeness — to 
the  plane  of  the  Human,  where  the  number 
"  Ten  "  stands  for  the  Human  Consciousness.  For 
both  these  numbers  denote  All,  each  on  its  plane. 

Thus  through  the  heart's  Idolatry  my  kingdom 
has  become  divided.  The  whole  mind  ("Ten") 
seems  given  over  to  falsities  (false  Gods). 

271 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

Yet  notwithstanding  this  seemingly  entire  defec- 
tion in  consciousness,  there  still  remains  a  Divine 
Centre,  at  the  very  heart  of  man,  which  he  will  not 
violate.  This  is  "  Judah,  ever  faithful  and  true." 

Of  these  Two  Kingdoms  or  Consciousnesses 
Hosea  says :  "  Ephraim  compasseth  Me  about 
with  Lies,  and  the  House  of  Israel  with  deceit; 
but  Judah  yet  ruleth  with  God,  and  is  faithful  with 
the  Holy  ONE."  Thus,  while  the  whole  Conscious- 
ness ("Ten")  is  in  falsities,  there  is  always  in 
every  man  a  "  One  "-Centre  (Judah)  that  he 
will  not  violate.  To  violate  this  Divine  Centre  —  to 
wilfully  violate  your  Divine  nature,  your  "Judah" 
Consciousness,  were  to  "  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost."  This  is  the  sin  of  sins,  which  "  hath 
never  forgiveness,"  because  it  strikes  so  vital  a 
point  that  its  effect  is  not  easily  obliterated  ("  for- 
given ").  It  must  spend  its  force,  and  work  itself 
out  in  suffering  instead,  until  the  expiation  is 
finished. 

This  is  your  "  Babylonial  Captivity,"  whose 
7  X  i  o  years  is  a  full  and  completed  experience  — 
without  regard  to  time.  This  sin  against  Divinity 
in  Consciousness  may  be  the  key  to  certain  persist- 
ent incurables. 

272 


THE    FOURTH    STEP 

However,  when  the  expiation  is  finished,  there 
comes  an  end  of  the  7  X  10  of  this  experience; 
when  all  things  conspire  for  your  restoration,  and 
the  rebuilding  of  your  temple.  But  by  the  elimi- 
nation of  time  in  consciousness  you  may  terminate 
your  Babylon  Captivity. 

This  "  Judah  "  Centre  is  the  inner  region,  where 
the  Christ  may  be  born.  Then  from  this  Centre 
must  proceed  the  regeneration  of  the  whole  man. 
In  the  One-Tribed  kingdom  dwells  the  True  Ego  — 
the  Christ;  in  the  Ten-Tribed  kingdom  are  the 
forces  of  Carnal  Mind.  Each  is  a  kingdom  within 
itself,  the  "  Outer"  ever  hostile  to  the  "  Inner." 

With  your  Judah  Centre  illuminated  by  the 
Christ,  you  send  forth  your  "  Twelve  Apostles  "  to 
the  "  Lost  Sheep  of  the  House  of  Israel,"  that 
this  outer  man  may  be  regenerated  so  that  the 
"  Two  may  become  ONE."  In  Oneness  in  con- 
sciousness Duality  ceases.  —  The  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  come. 

It  is  no  longer  a  question  whether  healing  is 
accomplished  by  the  metaphysical  method.  Cases 
in  proof  may  be  found  in  almost  every  hamlet. 
So  many  chronic  invalids  and  so-called  incurables 
have  been  restored  to  health,  that  Judge  Hanna 

273 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

once  said,  "We  do  not  get  our  members  from  the 
churches;  we  get  them  from  the  graveyards." 
They  are  snatched  from  the  grave.  Nearly  every 
form  of  disease  has  yielded  to  the  metaphysical 
treatment.  Fever^,  tumors,  cancers,  rheumatism, 
paralysis,  consumption,  insanity,  have  all  been 
healed  in  manner  remarkable.  But  this  is  not 
saying  that  we  heal  every  case.  For  the  patient's 
cooperation  and  receptivity,  and  sometimes  other 
factors  of  the  case,  have  a  part  to  play. 

At  all  events,  a  better  way  has  been  found  for 
healing  the  sick  than  the  old  drug  way,  or  the 
cruel  and  uncertain  knife  way.  It  is  the  natural 
way  —  the  Divine  Way —  the  Christ  Way ;  "  I  Am 
the  WAY." 

The  history  of  the  Church  abounds  in  healers  in 
every  Century,  who  healed  by  their  understanding 
of  the  Christ  Way.  But  we  live  in  an  age  of  very 
materialistic  thought,  unused  to  Spiritual  reason- 
ings. 

To  heal  by  the  power  of  thought,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  clear  Spiritual  perception,  which  sees 
beyond  the  phenomenal ;  to  have,  in  short,  a  Spir- 
itual Consciousness,  which  transforms  all  things 

into  Spiritual  beauty. 

274 


XI 


THE  FIFTH   STEP  :  —  "  GETHSEMANE  "  — 
SELF-RENUNCIATION 

"  Not  as  I  will ;  but  as  Thou  wilt :  " 

"  Not  My  Will ;  but  Thy  Will :  " 

"  If  this  Cup  may  not  pass  from  me,  Thy  Will  be  done." 

41  Thy  Will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  Heaven." 

IN  the  "Way"  of  Regeneration  you  have  now 
advanced  by  Four  Great  Steps,  viz. : 

1st,  Spiritual  Conception  and  Birth. 

2d,  Spiritual  Unfoldment  in  Wisdom  unto 
Manhood. 

3d,  Spiritual  Discrimination  —  the  "  Wilder- 
ness." 

4th,  Spiritual  Demonstration  —  in  Healing. 

In  the  First  Step  there  sprang  up  in  Conscious- 
ness a  New  Life  as  the  beginning  of  a  New  Man- 
hood, with  a  New  Principle  governing  Conduct 
and  a  New  Conception  of  the  meaning  of  Life. 

This  New  Principle  of  Manhood  with  its  New 
275 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

Conceptions  is  the  CHRIST,  conceived  and  brought 
forth  within ;  so  that  you  begin  to  live  a  New  Life, 
with  New  Motives  and  Aspirations. 

In  the  Second  Step  you  Increased  in  Wisdom  and 
Stature,  and  through  Wisdom  unfolded  the  Con- 
sciousness of  your  Spiritual  Manhood,  when  you 
received  the  Baptism  of  the  Spirit;  in  the  blazing 
light  of  which  the  Inner  Voice  revealed  to  your 
enlightened  Consciousness  that  you  are  God's 
well-Beloved  Son. 

In  the  Third  Step  —  in  the  mind's  "  Wilderness  " 
of  unknown,  unproved,  undetermined  qualities  and 
powers,  you  were  called  upon  to  demonstrate  your 
Son-ship  by  overcoming  like  a  Son  the  temptations 
of  the  unregenerate  Self.  Here  also  you  learned 
to  make  a  wise  discrimination  between  Truth  and 
Falsity,  Reality  and  Unreality,  Substance  and 
Shadow. 

In  the  Fourth  Step  you  demonstrated  your  un- 
derstanding of  the  principles  of  the  Christ  Life  by 
"  doing  the  mighty  works  "  —  healing  the  sick, 
casting  out  devils,  and  "  opening  prison  doors  to 
them  that  are  bound  "  by  the  chains  of  habit, 
appetite,  and  passion. 

This  Fourth  Degree  of  your  Initiation  is  where 
276 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

all  the  beautiful  work  and  labor  of  Love  for  the 
amelioration  of  human  suffering  is  done.  It  is 
the  stage  of  consecrated,  ripe  Manhood  and  con- 
sequent usefulness  —  the  active  stage  of  Practical 
Christianity. 

In  this  field  of  the  practical  application  of  the 
principles  of  Christ  you  may  well  desire  to  long 
remain :  for  here  the  world  needs  you,  and  has  a 
right  to  demand  of  you  what  you  have  to  give. 
For  "  no  man  liveth  unto  himself;  "  but  each  is  a 
sustaining  and  dependent  part  of  the  great  whole. 
If  you  have  received  the  Spirit's  illumination,  then 
you  are  here  to  "  let  your  light  shine  before  men," 
and  not  to  "  hide  it  under  a  bushel." 

Nevertheless  there  are  higher  experiences  for 
you,  higher  attainments  for  you  to  make;  that 
thereby  your  power  for  blessing  the  world  may 
be  enlarged.  There  are  higher  and  yet  higher 
degrees  of  unfoldment,  with  continually  enlarging 
spheres  of  usefulness  for  every  one  who  lives  up 
to  his  highest  light.  We  must  be  continually 
advancing  toward  Infinity,  demonstrating  every 
step  of  the  way. 

Your  possibilities  both  for  achievement  and 
demonstration  are  unlimited. 

277 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

If,  then,  a  greater  unfoldment,  even  to  the  illu- 
minated Christ-Consciousness,  awaits  you,  why 
should  you  falter  at  any  experience,  however 
severe?  Why,  indeed,  when  those  very  experi- 
ences shall  be  stepping-stones  to  those  great  and 
high  possibilities? 

"  Talent,"  said  Goethe,  "  thrives  in  solitude ;  but 
character  grows  in  the  stream  of  the  world." 

The  Neophyte's  advancement  is  by  alternate 
periods  of  silence  and  activity.  In  silence  you 
form  your  high  Ideals;  but  their  demonstration 
is  "  in  the  stream  of  the  world,"  in  contact  with 
human  conditions.  In  silence  you  lay  the  foun- 
dations deep  and  broad ;  but  in  practical  demon- 
stration you  "  build  according  to  the  pattern  shown 
in  the  mount."  Well-observed  silence  is  where 
the  degrees  are  conferred ;  but  "  in  the  stream  of 
the  world  "  you  prove  the  degrees. 

The  First  Step  in  Regeneration  is  taken  in  the 
stillness  of  silence.  This  is  the  "  secret  place  "  of 
all  conception,  whether  in  generation  or  regener- 
ation. The  Christ  is  conceived  in  the  passive 
stillness  of  silence,  in  the  receptive  emptiness  of 
your  soul. 

The  Second  Step  is  taken  "  in  the  midst  of  the 
278 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

Doctors"  (teachers),  "in  the  stream"  of  mental 
activity,  in  touch  with  other  minds. 

The  Third  Step  is  taken  in  the  silence  of  medi- 
tation, in  the  "  Wilderness  "  of  the  mind,  where 
you  work  out  great  and  vital  problems,  and  over- 
come like  Sons  of  God. 

The  Fourth  Step  is  taken  in  the  active  "  stream 
of  the  world  "  again,  in  demonstration  of  all  you 
have  learned  in  the  mount  of  silent  meditation. 

Every  victory  won  in  the  silence  must  be  re- 
won  in  the  arena  of  life  in  demonstration  of  the 
principles  involved. 

The  Fifth  Step  we  are  now  to  take  in  the  soli- 
tude of  the  soul,  where  single-handed  and  alone 
we  wrestle  with  a  persistent  foe,  as  Jacob  wrestled 
with  the  angel  "until  the  break  of  day" — and 
prevailed,  having  conquered  his  lower  Self;  so 
that  he  is  no  longer  "Jacob"  (the  supplanter), 
but  "  Israel  "  (who  rules  with  God).  Just  so  —  by 
our  "  brook  Jabbok  "  —  in  our  "  Gethsemane,"  we 
wrestle  with  a  persistent  foe  in  the  darkness  of  un- 
realized good  —  "  until  the  break  of  day."  For 
after  every  dark  night  of  struggle  there  is  sure  to 
come  a  "day-break  "  of  hope. 

That  persistent  foe  is  Self-Will.  "Not  my 
279 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Will,  but  Thy  Will,"  affords  us  the  key  to  the 
nature  of  the  work  and  victory  in  "  Gethsemane." 

If  you  are  solving  all  problems  involved  in  all 
experiences,  so  that  you  wisely  use  everything 
you  encounter,  you  will  some  time  meet  the  prob- 
lem involved  in  the  experience  of  the  present  hour 
—  the  question  of  My  Will  and  Thy  Will  — 
what  shall  be  done  with  My  Will,  when  the  higher 
rights  of  Thy  Will  are  presented.  And  this  prob- 
lem you  must  solve  in  the  right  way  —  by  re- 
nouncing the  human,  carnal  Self-Will,  recognizing 
and  affirming  the  supreme  and  sovereign  rights  of 
the  Divine  Will,  — submitting  and  subjecting  your 
Will  to  God's  Will,  that  you  may  evolve  out  of 
human  conditions  into  the  freedom  of  the  Sons  of 
God.  Self-renunciation  is  the  work  in  Gethsemane. 

"  He  that  exalteth  Self  shall  be  abased ;  but  he 
that  humbleth  Self  shall  be  exalted." 

Self  must  be  humbled  that  SELF  may  be  ex- 
alted. Self  must  be  denied  that  SELF  may  be 
emancipated.  The  Carnal  Self  must  be  humbled 
that  the  Christ-SELF  may  be  enthroned.  God's 
Will  must  be  your  Will.  If  you  make  God's  Will 
your  law,  you  become  subject  to  law,  the  bondage 
of  law ;  but  if  you  make  God's  Will  your  Will,  you 

280 


THE    FIFTH    STEP 

have  the  freedom  of  the  Sons  of  God.  In  the 
unity  of  purpose  and  Will  there  is  no  bondage, 
but  freedom  and  harmony. 

Then  the  important  question  is,  Self-will  or  Thy 
Will,  which?  Self-will  is  separation  and  tends  to 
death;  but  harmony  of  Will,  —  My  unwise,  un- 
righteous Will,  submerged  in  the  One  unerring, 
Righteous  Will,  is  harmony,  health,  prosperity,  and 
Life.  When  the  Divine  Will  has  its  free  way  in 
you  so  fully  that  it  is  your  Will,  then  "  God  is 
working  in  you,  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good 
pleasure,"  to  manifest  himself  in  you.  For  only 
Divinity  can  unfold  your  Divinity,  so  that  you  be- 
come conscious  of  it. 

Are  you  desirous  of  making  the  highest  possible 
attainment  —  even  to  God-Consciousness  —  which 
Jesus  reached?  Then  your  high  desire  or  rather 
aspiration  is  the  prophecy  of  that  very  thing 
awaiting  you  as  a  possible  attainment;  and  the 
Master  is  calling  to  you,  saying:  "Follow  Me;" 
follow  Me  in  the  work  of  Self-renunciation  ;  follow 
Me  through  Gethsemane ;  —  "I  Am  the  Way." 
The  Way  to  Spiritual  Greatness  runs  through 
Gethsemane,  —  the  Way  to  God-Consciousness. 

Therefore  you  cannot  afford  to  quail  at  the  strug- 

281 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

gle ;  though  to  lay  down  your  own  Self-will  for  the 
One  WILL  should  wring  the  "  bloody  sweat "  from 
your  brow,  calling  out  all  the  heroism  of  your 
soul. 

True  Greatness  depends  on  the  strength  and 
righteousness  of  your  purpose.  The  steadfast 
purpose  to  follow  your  high  Ideal,  though  the 
cross  be  in  your  path,  will  win  for  you  the  laurels 
of  greatest  victories. 

The  greatest  factor  of  strong  manhood  is  a 
righteous  purpose,  the  practice  of  which  you 
must  cultivate  studiously,  alone  in  meditation. 

For  character  is  your  own.  It  is  what  you  are. 
You  are  the  maker  of  your  own  character.  You 
may  make  it  what  you  will. 

The  man  who  ponders  deeply,  looks  within  for 
Wisdom,  and  decides  all  questions  for  himself,  by 
the  Inner  Light,  which  is  always  available,  is 
already  great.  What  a  contrast  between  the  man 
who  is  poised  in  the  consciousness  of  Divine 
Wisdom,  and  the  man  who  knows  no  better  than 
to  look  without  for  the  solution  of  every  question  ! 

The  man  who  has  a  righteous  purpose  is  a  con- 
queror without  a  battle,  after  his  purposes  have 
shaped  his  course.  He  is  like  the  Hercules  of 

282 


THE    FIFTH    STEP 

old,  of  whom  it  is  said,  "He  did  not  wait  for  a 
battle  :  he  conquered,  whether  he  stood  or  walked, 
or  whatever  thing  he  did."  He  was  always  a 
conqueror  everywhere.  You  could  see  the  Con- 
queror in  him. 

On  the  contrary,  he  who  fears  or  quakes  at  op- 
position will  be  defeated  everywhere.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  fearless  and  the  fearful  is  the 
difference  between  the  conqueror  and  the  con- 
quered. 

Emerson  said :  "  If  I  fear,  I  will  readily  find 
terrors."  There  are  no  terrors  to  the  fearless. 
They  are  conquerors  always. 

Again  Emerson  says :  "  Rectitude  is  a  perpetual 
victory." 

Therefore  he  who  stands  in  the  integrity  of  his 
manhood  is  consciously  a  victor,  because  he  has 
reached  that  consciousness  through  winning  vic- 
tories over  Self.  Here  the  conqueror  is  made. 

Gethsemane  is  the  place  of  greatest  decisions. 
In  the  Wilderness  the  work  of  that  degree  was 
accomplished  in  silence,  where  alone  with  God 
you  wrestled  and  prevailed.  Here  also  —  as  in 
all  soul-struggles  —  you  are  quite  alone;  here 
you  must  wrestle  and  prevail,  like  Jacob. 

283 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

No  one  can  share  with  you  this  work  or  this 
struggle;  nor  can  another  share  in  the  fruits  of 
your  victory.  It  is  your  "  Cup,"  your  struggle, 
your  victory,  your  evolution.  You  cannot  afford 
to  "let  this  cup  pass."  Not  to  drink  it  were  to 
miss  the  greatest  of  demonstrations  for  human  un- 
foldment,  —  a  demonstration  which  shall  enable 
you  to  say  with  the  Master :  "  All  power  is  given 
unto  me  in  Heaven  and  Earth."  You  may  yearn 
for  sympathy,  and  implore  the  aid  of  friends.  But 
their  eyes  will  be  heavy  with  sleep.  They  cannot 
enter  into  your  heart's  struggle.  It  is  exclusively 
your  cup. 

All  decisions  which  unfold  character  rest  on 
you  alone. 

It  is  always  your  problem,  your  battle,  your 
Gethsemane,  your  victory,  your  Christ-unfold- 
ment. 

In  order  to  be  always  victorious,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  cultivate  decision  of  character. 
Choose  the  course  which  appeals  to  you  as  the 
Right  Course,  and  allow  no  one  to  swerve  you 
from  it. 

When  you  stand  at  the  "  parting  of  the  ways," 
seeking  to  know  the  right  way,  the  Inner  Voice 

284 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

of  Wisdom  —  even  the  Great  Omniscience  —  may 
always  be  depended  on  to  point  the  way.  You 
need  not  be  long  in  doubt. 

You  may  have  to  make  many  self-denials  before 
the  old  self  is  fully  overcome.  Therefore  be 
heroic  in  purpose,  that  you  may  win  in  every 
conflict. 

With  a  fixed  and  unswerving  purpose  your  suc- 
cess is  assured  at  the  start.  The  battle  is  already 
decided  in  your  favor.  Your  name  is  success. 
This  name  is  written  in  your  forehead.  When  you 
look  into  the  face  of  a  man  of  purpose,  you  read 
success  there. 

Therefore  study  to  cultivate  this  principle ;  de- 
termine to  be  somebody,  and  have  all  your  pur- 
poses based  on  Rectitude ;  because  "  rectitude  is 
a  pepetual  victory."  If  you  desire  to  unfold  true 
greatness  through  the  eternities,  have  in  this  life 
high  purposes  based  on  rectitude.  This  quality 
is  eternal  and  all-conquering. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  what  is  the  chance  and 
prospect  of  "  the  fearful  and  unbelieving  "  ?  As 
we  might  expect,  "  The  fearful  and  unbelieving 
shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  that  burneth  with 
fire  and  brimstone," — only  defeat,  failure,  and 

285 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

remorse.  Will  it  not  pay,  think  you,  to  cultivate 
courage  and  purpose  and  reccitude? 

Each  one  will  some  time  find  his  Gethsemane, 
where  he  will  either  stand  or  fall,  according  to  the 
strength  and  righteousness  of  his  purpose.  These 
severe  passages  in  life  are  the  golden  opportu- 
nities for  every  unfolding  soul.  They  are  turning 
points,  opening  up  new  eras  in  life.  To  the 
strong  hearted  and  courageous  they  mean  do- 
minion, power,  and  unfoldment. 

This  purposeful,  courageous  mental  habit  will 
tell  in  everything  you  do,  — even  in  your  healing 
work,  as  you  encounter  the  almost  irresistible 
claims  of  Carnal  Mind.  Victories  here  are  the 
victories  of  Faith.  Here  you  must  be  a  conqueror, 
as  well  as  in  other  departments  of  life,  since  this 
is  the  work  to  which  you  are  called. 

Therefore,  while  giving  treatment,  take  your 
stand  strongly  in  the  Spiritual,  and  stand  bravely 
by  your  argument,  with  a  strong  faith  founded  on 
understanding,  no  matter  what  "  appearances " 
may  say  to  the  contrary.  For  these  "  appear- 
ances "  are  the  very  things  you  are  to  overcome 
by  your  heroic  faith  and  strong  realization. 

Tell  the  man  who  calls  himself  helpless,  as  with 
286 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

Spiritual  understanding  you  see  the  perfect  Son  of 
God  in  him,  —  tell  him  silently  or  audibly,  as  you 
are  led,  —  tell  him  with  firmness  and  confidence, 
that  he  is  a  Son  of  God  and  cannot  therefore  be 
weak  or  helpless ;  that  the  all-sufficient  energy 
of  Omnipotent  Life  permeates  every  fibre  of  his 
body.  Hold  him  evenly,  steadily,  and  in  unshaken 
confidence  in  the  sure  working  of  the  Law, 
and  Truth  Omnipotent  shall  set  him  free.  If  you 
are  unshaken  in  purpose,  unwavering  in  faith,  you 
will  soon  see  the  reward  of  your  persistent  faith 
and  loyalty  to  Truth,  in  your  patient  beginning  to 
improve. 

This  Gethsemane  quality  of  sturdy,  persistent 
faith  will  win. 

In  every  age  of  history  there  have  been  persons 
who  healed  the  sick  by  the  utterance  of  certain 
words. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  these  miracle  workers,  as 
they  were  called,  looked  upon  the  morbid  "  ap- 
pearance," and  said  to  it:  "  God  looks  you  quite 
away;  "  and  forthwith  the  symptoms  began  to 
change. 

What  was  it  that  gave  these  strange  words  their 
strange  potency?  Words,  as  such,  have  in  them- 

287 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

selves  no  power.  The  power  is  in  the  mind 
which  sends  them  forth,  —  in  its  high  realization 
of  the  Truth,  which  the  formula  of  words  embody 
and  represent  to  him. 

The  formula,  "  God  looks  you  quite  away,"  is  a 
strong  denial  of  the  reality  of  the  "  appearance." 
The  appeal  to  God  indicates  that  the  demonstrator 
takes  his  stand  in  his  highest,  and  speaks  from 
his  Divine  nature,  —  seeing,  as  it  were,  through 
the  eyes  of  God.  For  God  can  see  only  Truth  or 
true  conditions.  True  seeing  dissipates  the  false 
appearance,  and  brings  forward  the  Real  in  con- 
sciousness. 

You  are  recognizing  God  within,  as  looking 
through  your  eyes,  as  it  were,  and  seeing  as  a 
God,  —  seeing  truly,  —  seeing  only  the  eternally 
True.  For  to  see  only  Truth  and  perfection,  in 
spite  of  the  saddening  appearance,  is  to  see  as  God 
sees.  In  fact,  it  is  God  seeing.  For  there  is  only 
God  to  see  or  to  be  seen,  speaking  from  the  plane 
of  the  Absolute.  In  the  realm  of  Absolute  Truth 
disease  does  not  exist.  Therefore  the  Absolute 
cannot  see  deformity.  Only  the  human  sees  de- 
formity ;  only  the  sinner  sees  sin.  Therefore  when 
you  recognize  the  Perfect  One  as  looking  through 

288 


THE    FIFTH    STEP 

your  eyes  with  rectifying  sight,  deformity  must 
disappear.  Deformity  cannot  stand  the  "  Con- 
suming Fire"  of  the  Divine  looking.  In  such  a 
realization  you  can  say,  "  God  looks  you  quite 
away."  For  there  is  no  deformity  in  God's  per- 
fect Son,  whom  only  he  sees. 

Spiritual  Understanding,  or  knowing  Divinely, 
is  true  Sight.  Hence  it  follows  that  all  defects  in 
vision  are  but  indications  of  errors  in  understand- 
ing. Blurred  understanding  culminates  in  blurred 
vision.  Spiritual  Sight  being  defective,  the  eye- 
sight expresses  the  same  defect.  Sin  dims  the 
Spiritual  perceptions ;  and  what  marvel  that  dim- 
ness of  vision  is  so  universal?  "  Therefore  speak 
I  to  them  in  parables :  because  they  seeing,  see 
not ;  and  hearing,  hear  not,  neither  do  they  under- 
stand." ..."  But  blessed  are  your  eyes,  for 
they  see,  and  your  ears,  for  they  hear."  Give 
your  eyes  and  ears  this  Christ  benediction,  if  these 
senses  are  not  manifesting  perfectly. 

"He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see?" 
—  shall  he  not  see  through  his  own  eyes?  For 
your  eyes  are  the  Lord's  eyes. 

"  He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear?  " 
• — shall  he  not  use  his  own  perfect  instrument? 

389 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

For  your  ears  are  the  Lord's  ears.  Your  hand  is 
the  Lord's  hand.  Recognize  God  in  all  that  you 
do.  Your  Word  is  the  "  Word  of  the  Lord,"  when 
you  speak  from  your  Inmost  Consciousness.  When 
so  spoken,  it  is  winged  with  power.  "  So  shall 
My  Word  be,  that  goeth  forth  out  of  my  mouth ; 
it  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  shall  accom- 
plish that  which  I  please."  This  is  true  of  your 
word ;  because  all  Truth  spoken  is  the  speaking 
of  the  One  Voice  of  Truth.  It  is  God  speaking. 

Therefore  speak  your  word  of  Truth  in  healing 
with  authority,  —  with  the  authority  of  Truth,  — 
which  is  the  authority  of  God.  It  will  go  forth 
winged  with  power,  when  you  realize  its  divineness. 
Paul,  understanding  fully  the  power  and  value  of 
words,  gave  this  instruction  to  Timothy :  "  Hold 
fast  the  form  of  Sound  Words."  Every  statement 
of  Truth  should  be  expressed  in  concise  formula, 
in  order  that  its  most  dynamic  power  may  be  real- 
ized. The  more  logically  and  geometrically  ex- 
act the  formula,  the  greater  its  power.  Put  your 
thought  into  the  most  concentrated  form  possible. 

Yet  your  silent  word  may  have  the  same  power 
as  if  spoken  audibly.  Indeed,  in  some  cases  it 
may  have  greater  power ;  because  it  does  not  en- 

290 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

counter  the  doubt  of  your  uninstructed  and  uncom- 
prehending patient. 

The  place  of  power  is  the  still  centre  of  the 
mind,  where  all  the  confusions  of  mortal  thought 
are  hushed ;  where  you,  as  it  were,  step  aside, 
and  let  God  speak.  In  the  silence  you  listen. 
And  when  you  receive  the  Spirit's  Word,  you 
may  speak  it  with  vehemence  —  with  the  author- 
ity of  Truth.  Isaiah  said  :  "  Their  strength  is  to 
sit  still."  In  silence  we  "  wait  on  the  Lord." 
"  My  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord,  more  than  they 
that  watch  for  the  morning."  "  They  that  wait  on 
the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength." 

You  will  often  find  the  most  potent  treatment  is 
to  get  perfectly  still,  having  the  mind  perfectly 
empty  of  thought,  "  waiting  on  the  Lord,"  as  it 
were,  in  trustful  expectancy. 

The  value  of  a  "  form  of  words"  is  in  its  effect 
on  yourself,  rather  than  on  your  patient,  as  it 
holds  your  own  thought  steady  to  lines  of  Truth. 
Its  mission  is  to  straighten  you  out,  and  bring 
you  out  of  your  rut  into  clear  Spiritual  understand- 
ing. Then  the  work  is  done.  For  when  you 
have  removed  the  beam  from  your  own  eye,  there 
is  no  mote  in  your  brother's  eye.  When  you 

291 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

have  purified  your  own  atmosphere,  your  patient 
stands  in  the  atmosphere  of  heaven. 

At  best  the  "  form  of  words  "  is  but  the  ladder 
by  which  you  climbed  to  a  higher  realization,  in 
which  you  could  do  the  Spirit's  work.  When  you 
have  reached  that  altitude,  you  can  dispense  with 
the  ladder. 

A  noted  healer  tells  of  a  patient  "  whose  feeble- 
ness and  emaciation  made  her  heart  sink  at  first 
sight,  so  that  she  had  to  handle  the  arguments 
some  time  before  the  shuddering  appearance  could 
be  put  out  of  mind."  Then  came  her  realization 
of  the  patient's  completeness  in  being,  and  she 
was  healed.  Going  thence  to  her  own  room  with 
her  mind  illuminated,  "  a  waiting  patient  was  in- 
stantly healed  without  words  or  arguments."  Liv- 
ing on  the  plane  of  the  Spiritual,  you  will  be  a 
healing  presence. 

"  Not  my  will,  but  Thy  Will."  Only  when  you 
have  learned  the  secret  art  of  self-renunciation 
will  you  have  power  with  God,  —  will  God  be  with 
you  in  power. 

When  the  will  of  self  is  swallowed  up  in  the 
Will  of  God,  —  when  self-consciousness  gives 
place  to  the  Divine  Consciousness,  —  then  may 

292 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

God  "  work  through  you  to  will  and  to  do."  In 
this  realization  you  will  have  so  great  power  that 
"  nothing  shall  be  impossible  to  you."  You  will 
be  so  conscious  of  power  that  your  word  will  be 
like  a  decree.  "  If  thou  return  to  the  Almighty, 
thou  shalt  be  built  up  ...  thou  shalt  decree 
a  thing,  and  it  shall  be  established  unto  thee."  In 
the  establishment  of  God's  Will  in  you,  the  Law 
has  its  fulfilment,  where  "  Thy  Will  is  done  on 
Earth." 

We  will  now  offer  a  "  form  of  sound  words  "  as 
a  sort  of  general  formula  which,  or  parts  of 
which,  may  be  used  in  most  cases;  though  the 
experienced  practitioner  will  be  guided  by  the 
peculiarity  of  each  individual  case,  rinding  in  every 
case  its  adequate  formula. 

The  best  formula  springs  from  a  spontaneity  of 
thought,  in  response  to  the  patient's  need. 

GENERAL  FORMULA:  From  the  viewpoint  of 
the  Spiritual  speaking, 

You  are  a  Child  of  God  —  as  perfect  as  your 
Father. 

As  a  Spiritual  Being,  you  are  not  under  the  law 
of  sin  and  death. 

You  are  not  under  the  law  of  Carnal  Mind. 
293 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

You  are  not  under  the  law  of  Heredity. 

You  are  not  in  bondage  to  the  claims  of  the 
flesh. 

You  are  under  the  Great  Divine  Law  of  Love. 

Your  Heredity  is  from  God ;  whose  perfections 
you  inherit. 

"  You  are  complete  in  Him." 

God  is  your  Life,  your  Strength,  your  Health. 

"  In  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everlasting  Strength." 

You  are  strong  with  the  Strength  of  Omnipo- 
tence. 

The  vigor  of  health  is  your  inheritance. 

Omnipotent  God-Life  lives  you. 

Omnipotent  God-Truth  sustains  you. 

Omnipotent  God-Love  protects  you. 

You  are  free  and  joyous  and  well. 

"  Whom  the  Son  makes  free  is  free  indeed." 

The  mind  is  controlled  by  the  Will,  the 
Carnal  Mind  by  Carnal  Will,  —  this  is  Herod; 
the  Spiritual  Mind  by  the  Divine  Will,  —  this  is 
Christ.  You  will  not  be  entirely  free  from  the 
dominion  of  Herod  until  you  have  gone  through 
Gethsemane,  where  you  renounce  the  Carnal 
Herod-Will  —  the  will  of  the  flesh  —  and  learn  to 
vibrate  with  the  Divine  Will.  Even  this  perfect 

294 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

freedom  and  immunity  is  not  found,  until  after  the 
Crucifixion  is  accomplished. 

You  are  now  approaching  the  greatest  of  human 
experiences,  which  shall  bring  to  you  the  highest 
Consciousness  for  men  on  earth.  But  it  is  not 
found  in  Gethsemane.  It  lies  beyond.  To  reach 
it  you  must  go  through  Gethsemane.  It  cannot 
be  obtained  by  going  around  Gethsemane.  For 
you  cannot  carry  the  will  of  the  flesh  into  the 
heavenly  altitudes,  where  the  Christ  is  manifested 
in  resurrection  power. 

But  you  have  so  long  loved  and  pampered  this 
dear  self  with  its  self-will,  you  have  so  long  obeyed 
its  voice,  have  been  so  long  wedded  to  it,  that 
to  yield  it  up  as  a  sacrifice  is  like  wringing  the 
bloody  sweat  from  your  brow. 

But  you  have  conquered  Self,  and  have  chosen 
the  Divine  Will  as  your  will,  that  you  may  at- 
tain to  this  Spiritual  eminence  —  the  Resurrection 
Consciousness ;  an  experience  prepared  for  and 
awaiting  you,  and  to  be  fully  realized  by  you,  after 
the  heroic  work  of  the  next  lesson  shall  have  fully 
prepared  you  for  it. 


295 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

"The  higher    Alchemy" — From    "The    Perfect 
Way." 

"  The  Will  of  God  is  the  Alchemic  Crucible ; 
and  the  Dross  which  is  cast  therein  is  Matter." 

"  And  the  Dross  shall  become  pure  Gold  seven 
times  refined,  even  perfect  Spirit." 

"  It  shall  leave  it  nothing ;  but  it  shall  be  trans- 
formed into  the  Divine  Image." 

"  For  it  is  not  a  New  Substance ;  but  its  Al- 
chemic polarity  is  changed,  and  it  is  converted." 

"  But  except  it  were  Gold  in  its  true  nature  it 
could  not  be  resumed  into  the  aspect  of  Gold." 

"*And  except  Matter  were  Spirit,  it  could  not 
revert  to  Spirit." 

"To  make  Gold,  the  Alchemist  must  have 
Gold." 

"  But  he  knows  that  to  be  Gold  which  others 
take  to  be  Dross." 

"  Cast  thyself  into  the  Will  of  God  and  thou 
shalt  become  as  God." 

"  For  thou  art  God,  if  thy  Will  be  the  Divine 
WILL." 

"  This  is  the  Great  Secret.  It  is  the  Mystery  of 
Redemption." 

296 


THE   FIFTH    STEP 

THE   ETERNAL   WILL. 
BY  ELLA  WHEELER  WILCOX. 
There  is  no  thing  we  cannot  overcome. 
Say  not  thy  evil  is  inherited ; 

Or  that  some  taint  inborn  makes  thy  whole  life  forlorn, 
And  calls  down  punishment  that  is  not  merited. 

Back  of  thy  parents  and  grandparents  lies 
The  Great  Eternal  WILL.     That,  too,  is  thine 
Inheritance,  strong,  beautiful,  Divine  ;  — 
Sure  lever  of  success  to  him  who  tries. 

Pry  up  thy  fault  with  this  great  lever,  Will; 

However  bedded  in  propensity  ; 

However  firmly  set,  I  tell  thee  firmer  yet 

Is  that  vast  power  that  comes  from  Truth's  immensity. 

Thou  art  a  part  of  that  strange  world,  I  say ; 
Its  forces  lie  within  thee,  stronger  far 
Than  all  thy  mortal  sins  and  frailties  are. 
Believe  thyself  Divine,  and  watch  and  pray. 

There  is  no  height  thou  canst  not  climb ; 

All  triumphs  may  be  thine  in  time's  futurity ; 

If,  whatsoe'er  thy  fault,  thou  dost  not  faint  nor  halt, 

But  lean  upon  the  staff  of  God's  security. 

Earth  has  no  claim  the  soul  cannot  contest. 
Know  thyself  part  of  the  Supernal  Source  ; 
And  naught  can  stand  before  thy  spirit's  force.  — 
The  soul's  Divine  Inheritance  is  best. 
297 


XII 


THE   SIXTH   STEP  : —  "  CRUCIFIXION     —  ELIMINA- 
TION  OF  THE   SELF 

' '  They  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  its 
passions  and  lusts."  —  Gal.  5:24. 

"  I  am  crucified  with  Christ,  nevertheless  I  live ;  yet  not  I ; 
CHRIST  liveth  in  me.1'  —  Gal.  2: 20. 

IN  reading  the  record  of  the  Life  of  Jesus  the 
Christ,  especially  of  the  Crucifixion,  if  we  would 
learn  its  vital  lesson,  it  is  important  to  bear  in 
mind  the  distinction  which  must  be  made  between 
some  of  the  terms  employed,  which  are  not  syn- 
onymous, as  some  suppose,  but  of  widely  different 
esoteric  meaning,  as  the  names  Jesus  and  Christ 
and  the  terms  Son  of  Man  and  Son  of  God.  Jesus 
himself  did  not  use  these  terms  carelessly  or  at 
random,  as  though  they  were  equivalents,  but 
always  wisely  using  the  one  where  the  other  would 
have  been  improper.  Whenever  he  spoke  of 
himself  as  the  "  Son  of  Man,"  he  referred  to  his 


THE   SIXTH   STEP 

Humanity;  when  as  the  "Son  of  God,"  he  re- 
ferred to  his  Divinity. 

"  Jesus  "  is  the  name  of  the  corporeal  "  Son  of 
Man  "  ;  "  Christ "  is  the  name  of  the  incorporeal 
"  Son  of  God  "  ;  "  Jesus  Christ ",  the  union  of  the 
two,  stands  for  Humanity  regenerated, —  the  "  Son 
of  Man  "  Christ-ed  — the  Divine  Humanity, —  the 
"  Son  of  Man  "  transformed  into  the  "  Son  of 
God,"  —  which  is  the  ultimate  of  Regeneration. 

Only  the  corporeal  "  Son  of  Man"  could  die  — 
or  did  die.  CHRIST,  the  incorporeal  "  Son  of 
God,"  was  not  subject  to  death.  The  Christ 
could  not  be  crucified, —  could  not  even  be 
"  brought  before  Pilate,"  nor  suffer  indignity  at 
the  hands  of  the  profane.  The  record  does  not 
say  that  Christ  died.  For  Divinity  could  not  die 
or  suffer.  We  use  terms  carelessly.  But  what 
saith  the  record? 

"  They  delivered  Jesus  to  be  crucified."  They 
could  do  no  more.  It  is  the  universal  experience, 
that  Carnal  Mind  is  ever  hostile  to  the  Christ, 
ever  seeks  to  destroy  the  Christ  from  Conscious- 
ness. "  Carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,  is 
not  subject  to  the  Law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can 

be"  (Rom.  8:7).     The    Christ   is   "the    Lamb 

299 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world ;  "  slain 
in  the  animus  of  Carnal  Mind,  yet  never  slain. 
For  the  CHRIST  is  forever  the  untouchable  One. 
Only  the  Carnal  receives  the  blow  aimed  at  the 
Christ.  Invariably  "  The  reproaches  of  them  that 
reproached  Thee  are  fallen  upon  me  "  (Ps.  60:  9). 
In  esoteric  experience  this  is  what  the  "  Jesus  "  is 
saying  to  the  "  Christ ;  "  the  blow  aimed  at  the  "  Son 
of  God  "  falls  upon  the  "  Son  of  Man,"  if  we  are 
seeking  to  manifest  the  "  Son  of  God."  For  the 
"  Son  of  Man  "  must  die  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 
My  whole  world  within  —  my  consciousness — is 
a  sin-world,  a  Sin-Consciousness.  And  this  "  Son 
of  Man  "  must  die  to  end  that  Consciousness  and 
redeem  that  world.  We  must  Crucify  the  Carnal 
Self— the  Son-of-Man-Self. 

For  Jesus  was  the  Representative  Man  of  the 
Ages,  whose  objective  life  represents  Spiritual  ex- 
perience —  your  Spiritual  experience  in  "  The 
Way  "  of  Regeneration.  He  lived  for  us,  and  he 
died  for  us  —  not  as  our  "  substitute,"  crucified  in 
our  stead  —  but  as  our  Archetype,  our  Pattern, 
our  "WAY."  Therefore  "The  Way"  of  his  ex- 
ternal experience  corresponds  to  our  "way"  in 
Spiritual  experience  in  the  Path  of  Regeneration. 

300 


THE   SIXTH    STEP 

As  the  corporeal  "  Son  of  Man  "  was  crucified, 
that  the  incorporeal  "  Son  of  God  "  might  through 
that  death  bring  forth  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  by  a 
glorious  Resurrection  from  the  dead,  so  must  we 
crucify  the  Carnal  Mind,  that  the  Christ  may  have 
a  Resurrection  in  Consciousness,  that  we  may 
receive  the  wonderful  illumination  of  the  Christ- 
Consciousness,  and  that  the  body  and  soul  may 
find  Redemption  through  Regeneration. 

In  "  The  Way "  of  Regeneration  we  have  now 
taken  Five  Steps. 

We  have  found  that  each  step  has  been  essential 
as  a  preparation  for  the  next.  Only  perfect  work 
in  each  degree  insures  successful  advancement  in 
the  Christ-Life,  —  the  Christ- Way. 

Having  taken  five  steps,  we  stand  at  the  portal 
of  the  Sixth  Great  Step,  which  is  to  open  to  us  the 
full  realization  of  the  transcendent  glories  of  the 
Resurrection  Consciousness. 

This  Greatest  of  all  and  final  Step  is  "  Cruci- 
fixion." 

In  Gethsemane  we  have  been  especially  prepared 
for  what  is  before  us.  In  Gethsemane  we  have 
made  Crucifixion  a  possible  experience.  For  had 
we  been  unwilling  to  take  that  step,  —  had  we  fal- 

301 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

tcred  in  Gethsemane,  still  clinging  to  the  old 
Carnal  Self,  —  then  Carnal  Mind  would  be  still 
dominating  us,  hedging  up  our  progress,  and  mak- 
ing impossible  the  glorious  experience  of  the 
"  First  Resurrection." 

But  having  renounced  the  old  Carnal  Self  and 
the  old  Carnal  Will,  we  are  free  from  the  dominion 
of  that  old  earthly  Sinner-Self,  and  find  our  per- 
fect freedom  in  obedience  to  the  Divine  Will. 

Having  made  the  Divine  Will  our  own,  we  can 
now  do  what  the  Spirit  shall  direct,  that  we  may 
advance  into  the  Heavenly  altitudes. 

Therefore  in  calm  assurance  and  fearlessness  we 
advance  to  the  most  radical  work  of  Crucifixion, 
saying  with  our  Representative :  "  Arise,  let  us  be 
going."  Going  whither?  Cheerfully  going  to 
Crucifixion. 

When  we  are  duly  prepared  for  any  experience, 
however  severe,  —  and  knowing  that  all  experi- 
ences are  good,  even  though  severe,  —  we  can  meet 
them  joyfully,  knowing  that  in  the  current  of  the 
Divine  Will  a  higher  unfoldment  follows.  "  For 
our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  the  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 

weight  of  Glory"  (2  Cor.  4: 17). 

302 


THE   SIXTH    STEP 

We  conquer  by  obedience.  The  struggle  is 
over.  Nothing  can  hinder  the  great  demonstra- 
tion. This  is  the  closing  act  in  the  demonstration 
of  Divinity,  which  shall  bring  us  into  the  Con- 
sciousness of  our  Divinity. 

For  the  Carnal  must  die,  —  must  be  eliminated 
from  consciousness,  in  order  to  the  realization  of 
the  Christ-Resurrection. 

It  is  all  an  evolution  in  Consciousness,  —  pass- 
ing an  Evolutionary  Boundary,  —  passing  out  of 
the  Human-Consciousness  into  the  Divine-Con- 
sciousness. This  is  progression  according  to  Di- 
vine order.  For  we  are  evolving  from,  and  leaving 
the  old  Animal-Human  Consciousness,  —  and  now 
a  door  swings  open  to  us,  and  we  are  ushered  into 
a  higher  Consciousness  —  the  Divine-Human  Con- 
sciousness. This  is  Regeneration.  This  is  Re- 
demption. We  have  come  by  the  "  King's  High- 
way"—  the  "Christ- WAY."  The  New  Testament 
name  for  this  high  Consciousness  is,  "  The  First 
Resurrection." 

Through  Regeneration  you  have  by  an  evolu- 
tion risen  to  a  higher  plane  consciously,  where  you 
live  more  Divinely,  —  no  longer  the  mere  Animal- 
intellectual  life,  but  the  Life  of  a  God.  Faculties 

303 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

and  powers  before  unrecognized  you  are  now  un- 
folding. The  Spiritual  Man,  the  "  Son-of-God- 
Man,"  is  coming  into  his  kingdom. 

It  is  the  "  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  where  Christ 
is  King.  In  our  past  experience  this  king  seems 
to  have,  as  it  were,  "journeyed  to  a  far  country," 

—  because  he  has  not  been  in  consciousness,  —  as 
in   the   parable,   and   now   "  returns   to    take  his 
kingdom,"  —  to  reign  in  Consciousness. 

Now  that  you  have  come  into  your  kingdom, 
you  will  rule  your  body  in  Wisdom  and  righteous- 
ness. 

Having  in  view  this  perfect  dominion,  Paul  said  : 
"  I  keep  my  body  under."  In  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  you  will  be  able  to  rule  your  body  with  all 
its  faculties  and  powers  —  "  keeping  it  under"  the 
control  of  the  Will. 

When  we  think  of  man  as  an  intelligent  being, 
we  must  not  think  that  this  intelligence  is  con- 
fined to  the  brain.  For  the  entire  organism, 
every  microscopic  cell  of  that  organism,  is  intelli- 
gent. This  is  why  your  body  responds  to  your 
active  thought,  so  that  you  are  able  to  control  it 

—  "keep  it  under"  full  control.     Every  organ  is 
your  servant,  which  it  is  your  privilege  to  control. 

3°4 


THE   SIXTH    STEP 

The  body  contains  all  the  stored-up  thoughts  of 
your  past  living.  By  the  power  of  mind  you  have 
instructed  every  cell  according  to  the  plane  and 
standard  of  your  old  life.  Therefore  if  your  body 
does  not  toe  the  mark  of  your  new  and  higher 
standard,  it  is  because  you  have  not  fully  redeemed 
the  past.  These  cells  are  still  in  blissful  inno- 
cence carrying  out  your  former  instructions.  You 
have  got  to  re-instruct  them  according  to  the  new 
light  you  have  received.  You  must  "  go  into  all 
the  world "  of  subconscious  mind  "  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  Creature." 

The  whole  realm  of  subconscious  mind  has  got 
to  be  re-instructed  and  redeemed.  The  reason 
there  is  an  occasional  outburst  of  some  inhar- 
monious manifestation  is  because  these  cells  are 
still  carrying  out  your  former  ideas. 

Your  body  is  both  intelligent  and  conscious. 
So  is  every  plant  of  the  field ;  so  is  everything  in 
the  universe.  Because  God  is  Omnipresent  Life, 
Intelligence,  and  Consciousness.  All  nature  vi- 
brates with  conscious  Life  and  Intelligence  —  each 
individual  thing  in  its  own  sphere  of  manifestation. 

It  is  on  account  of  this  intelligence  in  every 
cell  that  you  are  able  to  give  your  body  a  mental 

3°5 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

treatment.  If  no  intelligence  were  there,  it  could 
never  respond  to  our  thought,  and  you  could  not 
control  it. 

Of  course  Brain  is  not  mind.  Mind  is  imma- 
terial, and  uses  both  Brain  and  Nerve  to  carry  out 
its  mandates;  and  every  intelligent  cell  is  atten- 
tive to  your  word  of  authority  from  the  supreme 
ruler. 

With  a  little  attention  and  observation  any  one 
may  become  conscious  of  the  working  of  this  in- 
telligence in  the  body. 

If  you  will  put  your  whole  body  in  a  state  of 
quiet  repose,  and  then  suddenly  utter  some  start- 
ling statement,  such  as,  /  am  filled  with  Omnipo- 
tent Life,  you  will  observe  a  distinct  thrill  through- 
out the  entire  body.  There  is  a  physiological 
reason  for  it. 

These  intelligent  cells  are  suddenly  aroused  by 
the  new  thought  you  have  given  them ;  and  they 
suddenly  turn  their  attention,  that  they  may 
receive  that  thought.  For  they  are  your  obedient 
servants,  ready  to  hear  and  obey. 

As  when  a  military  officer  says:  "Attention, 
Company!"  every  eye  is  turned  toward  him  — 


306 


THE    SIXTH    STEP 

so  every  cell  in  your  body  is  ready  to  hear  your 
word,  when  you  speak  with  authority. 

If  man  had  been  always  righteous  in  every 
thought,  the  body  would  manifest  the  same  right- 
eousness in  every  cell ;  and  there  would  be  noth- 
ing but  health  and  harmony.  Thus  Health  is 
Righteousness  or  right-ness.  If  mind  had  been 
always  righteous  in  every  thought,  there  would  be 
nothing  but  righteousness  in  the  great  storehouse 
of  subconscious  mind.  Health  would  be  universal. 
When  Paul  said,  "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap,"  he  had  reference  to  sowing 
thoughts  in  the  soil  of  subconscious  mind,  where 
there  is  sure  to  be  a  harvest  for  our  reaping  in 
corresponding  conditions.  And  when  Bacon  said, 
"  My  Mind  to  me  a  kingdom  is,"  he  doubtless  had 
reference  to  the  whole  subconscious  mind,  with  its 
miltillions  of  intelligent,  obedient  cells,  as  the 
people  of  that  kingdom. 

Therefore,  with  intelligent  cells  as  the  people  of 
your  kingdom,  if  your  stomach  is  not  performing 
its  work  of  digestion  perfectly,  you  may  talk  to  it, 
as  to  a  friend  or  servant,  reminding  it  of  its  God- 
derived  powers,  and  tell  it  to  perform  its  function, 


3°7 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

—  and  it  will  obey  you.  This  would  be  a  mental 
treatment.  Say  to  it: 

You  are  my  willing  and  obedient  servant,  and 
love  to  do  my  will. 

You  are  filled  with  the  power  of  Omnipotent 
Life. 

You  stand  in  the  Principle  of  unchanging  Truth. 

Divine  Love  is  the  spring  of  all  your  powers. 

You  are  equal  to  your  task;  because  God  is 
your  Strength :  "  Your  sufficiency  is  of  God." 

In  loving  recognition  of  your  ability  and  willing- 
ness to  obey,  I  command  you  to  do  your  work. 

You  are  now  in  glad  obedience  performing  your 
function. —  Amen. 

Withdrawyour  condemnation  from  your  stomach. 
Because  your  condemnation  and  doubt  are  the  chief 
causes  of  its  failure ;  and  it  cannot  perform  its 
function  as  long  as  you  are  condemning  it  as  in- 
competent. Every  one  has  observed  the  helpful 
effect  of  praise  and  confidence  on  a  servant.  It  is 
no  less  so  with  these  subconscious  servants,  who 
rejoice  in  your  praise  and  assurance  of  power. 

Every  organ  is  your  servant,  glad  to  do  your 
will;  and  you  are  the  king  required  to  rule  in 
righteousness.  There  is  no  other  way  to  insure 

308 


THE   SIXTH    STEP 

harmony  in  your  kingdom.  For  the  King  who 
rules  his  subjects  in  love  rules  a  happy  and  con- 
tented people. 

This  formula  for  the  stomach  will  apply  to  any 
organ.  For  each  organ  represents  a  province  of 
your  kingdom,  which  you  are  to  hold  in  loyalty 
and  truth,  knowing  your  power  and  authority  as 
king. 

We  are  not  saying  that  there  is  anything  like 
reason  in  the  cells.  Reason  is  not  the  only  evi- 
dence of  intelligence.  Intelligence  is  everywhere, 
because  God  is  everywhere.  When  you  reason 
with  your  stomach,  it  hears  —  not  the  words,  but 
the  thoughts  you  give  it. 

For  in  the  body  there  is  a  great  telephonic  sys- 
tem. From  the  Brain,  the  Central  Station,  you 
send  your  thought  along  the  nerve-wires ;  and  the 
numerous  ganglia  are  the  local  stations,  where 
your  messages  are  received.  Your  passion- 
thoughts,  whether  of  love,  hate,  avarice,  or  sensu- 
ality, are  all  innocently  heard  at  these  stations,  and 
unsuspectingly  received  by  the  organs,  which  be- 
come modified  accordingly.  Is  it  any  wonder  an 
organ  becomes  debilitated,  when  we  think  how 
much  of  error,  sin,  and  passion  we  have  merciless- 

3°9 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

ly  poured  upon  it?  Knowing  now  that  we  have 
power  by  our  thoughts  to  bless,  curse,  or  even  kill 
our  bodies,  we  will  no  longer  accuse  our  Heavenly 
Father  of  sending  affliction  and  death. 

By  the  power  of  regenerated  thought  we  are  to 
redeem  and  regenerate  our  bodies,  until  "  the 
without  becomes  as  the  within,"  —  until  "  the 
kingdoms  (or  provinces)  of  this  world  (within) 
become  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ." 
This  means  the  redemption  of  subconscious  mind. 

The  mind  regenerated  and  the  body  thereby  re- 
deemed are  the  consummation  of  our  work  on 
earth.  Then  will  we  be  prepared  for  graduation 
to  a  higher  school,  this  lower  one  having  sub- 
served its  purpose. 

Returning  to  the  thread  of  our  subject:  The 
Great  Teacher  was  using  the  term  "  Son  of  Man  " 
with  exact  propriety,  when  he  said : 

The  Son  of  Man  goeth  as  it  is  written  of  him. 

For  if  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  idea,  or  human  con- 
cept of  Man,  is  not  the  True  Idea  —  then  it  must 
"Go" — must  be  ruled  out  of  mind  and  conscious- 
ness ;  in  order  that  the  True  Idea  —  the  concep- 

310 


THE   SIXTH    STEP 

tion  of  Man  as  the  "  Son  of  God  "  —  may  prevail 
and  transform  the  consciousness. 

Here  is  the  whole  problem  of  Salvation  con- 
tained in  the  meaning  of  the  act  and  process  of 
Crucifixion,  namely:  Rejection  and  Crucifixion  of 
the  "  Son  of  Man,"  and  the  Resurrection  in  Con- 
sciousness of  the  "  Son  of  God." 

"  For  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilder- 
ness, even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up." 
By  recognizing  the  "  Son  of  God  "  in  the  "  Son  of 
Man  "  —  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  "  is  lifted  up  "  to  the 
estate  of  the  "  Son  of  God."  This  must  all  take 
place  in  Consciousness.  This  is  Regeneration. 

For  when  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  becomes  in  con- 
sciousness the  "  Son  of  God,"  that  moment  has 
Salvation  come  to  him,  because  his  Consciousness 
has  been  changed  from  the  Human  to  the  Divine. 

Before  you  can  come  into  the  Resurrection  Con- 
sciousness, "  the  Son  of  Man  must  be  rejected 
and  set  at  naught."  That  old  concept  must  "  Go," 
and  in  its  place  must  be  "  lifted  up  "  the  True 
Concept  —  "  the  Son  of  God."  You  must  even 
"  Crucify  the  Son  of  Man ;"  in  order  that  the  "  Son 
of  God"  may  shine  forth  in  resurrection  Glory. 
The  true  consciousness  of  Life  is  attained  through 

3" 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

death—  the  death  of  Self—  the  "  Son  of  Man." 
High  ideals  cannot  fill  the  mind  until  it  has  sacri- 
ficed its  low  ideals.  The  low  ideals  must  be  cast 
out  and  "set  at  naught"  (made  nothing),  "de- 
nied before  Pilate,"  and  crucified  outside  the 
Temple  and  City,  —  entirely  put  out  of  conscious- 
ness, —  that  you  may  be  able  to  attain  to  the 
consciousness  of  the  "  Son  of  God,"  in  a  glorified 
and  resurrected  body,  "  without  spot  or  wrinkle  or 
any  such  thing." 

Thus  the  way  to  the  Christ-Consciousness  is  the 
"  Christ-Way."  In  the  completely  transformed 
Consciousness  is  perfect  health.  And  this  carried 
to  its  ultimate  conclusion  implies  Eternal  Life. 

To  be  consciously  a  Son  of  God  is  to  be  in  the 
God-Consciousness ;  where  a  transformed  life  ulti- 
mates  in  a  transformed  body. 

When  this  is  realized  in  experience,  there  will 
be  no  further  incarnations  for  such  an  individual. 
For  he  has  reached  the  highest  unfoldment  earth 
can  give. 

In  the  old  life  you  built  your  body  after  the 
pattern  of  false  ideas ;  now  in  the  Christ  Life  you 
are  rebuilding  "  after  the  pattern  shown  in  the 
mount,"  —  the  pattern  of  Christ. 

3" 


THE    SIXTH    STEP 

Regeneration  is  the  rebuilding  process  of 
thought  action.  Its  Sixth  Step  you  have  nearly 
completed.  If  you  have  carefully  appropriated, 
assimilated,  and  carried  into  practice  all  the  prin- 
ciples of  these  Six  Steps  you  are  nearing  the  goal 
of  the  Resurrected  Life.  But  the  old  life  with  its 
life-long  habits  and  its  race-long  beliefs  is  so  ex- 
ceedingly tenacious,  that  in  seeking  deliverance 
from  this  bondage  what  marvel  that  so  extreme 
a  measure  as  crucifixion  of  the  Carnal  Self  is  nec- 
essary for  that  emancipation. 

When  we  say  the  Christ  was  never  crucified  — 
only  the  fleshly  "  Son  of  Man,"  there  ought  to  be 
somewhere  in  the  symbolic  record  some  symbolic 
incident  or  parabolic  picture  to  make  clear  that 
fact,  that  we  may  see  the  perfect  correspondence 
of  the  Outer  and  the  Inner. 

Such  an  allegoric  incident  or  picture  is  found  in 
Mark  14:  51-2: 

"  And  a  certain  young  man  followed  with  him, 
having  a  linen  cloth  cast  about  him  over  his  naked 
body ;  and  they  lay  hold  on  him  ;  and  he  left  the 
linen  cloth  and  fled  naked." 

As  a  mere  historical  incident  (without  figurative 
meaning)  this  has  no  value  or  significance  what- 

313 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

ever.  But  admitting  the  allegory  it  is  very  signifi- 
cant. Indeed,  if  we  are  to  regard  the  whole  life 
of  Jesus  as  a  wonderful  allegoric  history  —  or 
even  as  pure  allegory  —  then  this  incident  is  an 
inseparable  part  of  that  symbology.  It  is  a  pic- 
ture given  to  show  that  the  CHRIST  escaped  Cru- 
cifixion, arraignment,  and  even  mockery.  It 
shows  the  point  of  separation  of  the  "  Son  of 
God "  from  the  "  Son  of  Man,"  —  leaving  the 
"  Son  of  Man  "  to  "  tread  the  winepress  alone ;  " 
—  in  order  that  the  Master's  experience  may  per- 
fectly represent  our  Spiritual  experience  in  cruci- 
fying the  "  Son  of  Man  "  within  ourselves,  that  we 
may  attain  to  the  "  Resurrection  from  the  dead." 

The  "linen  cloth  "  stands  for  the  human  language 
or  terminology  with  which  the  human  mind 
clothes  its  conception  of  the  Christ  —  its  Creed. 
But  as  the  Eternal  WORD  cannot  be  spoken  —  as 
the  Real  CHRIST  cannot  be  cumbered  by  human 
ideas  or  limited  to  human  definitions,  or  repre- 
sented by  human  words  even  —  so  this  allegoric 
"  young  man  left  the  linen  cloth  and  fled  naked." 
CHRIST,  the  Divine  SON,  is  ever  "  young,"  clean, 
"  naked,"  as  to  human  terms  and  ideas.  Human 
terms  and  Creeds  are  nothing  to  him.  They  are 

3H 


THE   SIXTH    STEP 

purely  human.  Words  and  creeds  are  wholly  in- 
competent to  represent  the  Christ.  When  you 
reach  the  glorious  Resurrected  Life,  Creeds  will 
appear  as  the  swaddling  clothes  of  your  infancy, 
now  wholly  worthless  to  you. 

The  Name  of  God  is  unutterable  and  always 
transcends  human  conceptions  and  terms. 

The  "  Son  of  God  "  has  disappeared  from  the 
scene,  that  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  maybe  "three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth." 

There  were  "  three  days  and  three  nights  "  from 
Thursday  morning,  when  the  arrest  took  place, 
and  the  "young  man"  disappeared,  —  marking 
the  time  that  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  enters  into  the 
heart  of  human  conditions  ("  the  heart  of  the 
earth  ")  — to  "Very  early  in  the  morning"  (Sun- 
day), when  Mary  sees  again  the  "young  man," 
who  has  now  taken  again  his  redeemed  and  trans- 
formed body,  leaving  the  tomb  empty. 

In  our  work  of  crucifying  the  Carnal  Self  there 
are  "Two  (metaphysical)  Thieves,"  which  must 
also  be  crucified  and  eliminated  from  conscious- 
ness, in  order  to  a  successful  demonstration.  These 
"  Two  Thieves,"  which  rob  you  of  the  full  realiza- 
tion of  your  Divine  Inheritance  are  : 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

The  Idea  of  Matter's  Reality,  and 
The  Idea  of  Evil's  Reality ;  — 

the  former  "  on  the  Right  Hand  "  (the  place  of 
favor)  ;  and  the  latter  "  on  the  Left  Hand  "  (the 
place  of  rejection). 

As  long  as  these  "  robber  "  Ideas  are  allowed  a 
place  in  the  mind,  you  will  be  robbed  of  the  true 
conception  of  Realities,  and  of  the  full  realization 
of  yourself  as  a  Spiritual  Being; — you  cannot 
have  the  heavenly  realizations  in  the  present  tense; 
and  will  hope  to  find  them  in  a  future  state  of 
existence.  For  as  long  as  you  believe  in  two 
Realities  —  one  Spiritual  and  the  other  Material, 
you  will  have  a  divided  mind,  and  cannot  fully 
know  God  as  Spirit. 

As  long  as  you  believe  yourself  both  Spiritual 
and  Material,  you  will  be  in  bondage  to  material 
conditions. 

You  must  crucify  (cross  out)  the  "  robber  "  of 
materiality. 

Then  again  as  long  as  you  believe  in  Two  Re- 
alities—  one  Good  and  the  other  Evil  —  you  can- 
not fully  know  the  Good,  nor  God,  the  Eternal 
GOOD.  Because  being  in  the  consciousness  of 

316 


THE   SIXTH    STEP 

Good-and-Evil,  you  have  a  divided  mind.  As 
long  as  you  believe  in  Two  Principles  governing 
you  —  a  principle  of  Good  and  a  principle  of 
Evil,  you  cannot  know  the  freedom  of  the  Sons 
of  God,  nor  attain  to  the  freedom  of  the  Resur- 
rection. For  conscious  of  two  opposing  principles 
governing  you,  you  will  be  in  constant  warfare,  — 
"  a  house  divided  against  itself."  You  must  cross 
out  this  "  robber." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  there  is  a  salvable 
element  in  the  Right  Hand  Robber  (else  he  would 
not  be  on  the  right  hand).  Therefore  he  is  both 
crucified  and  saved  at  the  same  time.  In  our 
efforts  to  overcome  the  material  consciousness, 
for  the  sake  of  strengthening  the  Spiritual  con- 
sciousness, we  shall  not  succeed,  until  we  make 
the  distinction  between  the  Real  and  the  Ap- 
parent—  the  Spiritual  and  the  Phenomenal  as- 
pects of  matter.  For  the  visible,  phenomenal, 
apparent  aspect  is  not  the  Reality.  But  back  of 
and  underlying  the  phenomenal  is  the  eternally 
abiding  Spiritual  Essence,  which  is  the  Substance 
of  Reality.  Thus  Matter  is  Real  in  its  invisible 
Spiritual  Substance ;  but  unreal  in  its  phenomenal 
aspect. 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

This  Robber  repented,  and  entered  into  para- 
dise with  the  eternally  abiding  Christ.  —  "  To-day 
shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise,"  —  which  signi- 
fies, that  when  we  give  up  (repent  of)  sense  evi- 
dence, as  the  test  of  Reality,  and  recognize  the 
Spiritual  as  the  Real,  then  our  material  concep- 
tions will  change  to  Spiritual  conceptions;  and 
the  material  body  will  appear  as  a  Spiritual  body, 
in  consciousness,  according  to  the  degree  of  reali- 
zation. We  have  renounced  the  "robber"  of 
materiality,  and  have  found  its  Spiritual  Essence, 
or  true  Substance.  The  "robber"  element  disap- 
pears, and  salvable  Substance  remains. 

But  in  the  Left  Hand  robber  there  is  no  salv- 
able element  or  redeeming  principle  whatever. 
For  Evil  is  a  falsity,  unreality,  a  delusion  and  a 
snare,  and  must  "  Go  "  with  the  Carnal  Conscious- 
ness, before  the  Spiritual  Resurrection  can  be 
realized  in  Consciousness. 

In  the  realm  of  Reality  Matter  exists  as  Spirit- 
ual Substance ;  but  Evil  having  no  Substance  of 
Reality  is  a  stupendous  Lie,  and  can  have  no 
place  in  the  Christ-Consciousness,  toward  which 
we  are  hastening. 

We  have  been  doing  some  pretty  thorough  work 
318 


THE    SIXTH    STEP 

with  Carnal  Mind,  in  destroying  its  supports ;  so 
that  the  old  Sin-Consciousness  has  nothing  left 
to  support  it.  This  causes  a  sense  of  vacuity 
and  darkness,  —  "  there  was  darkness  over  all  the 
earth  until  the  ninth  hour."  There  is  always 
darkness  before  the  dawning  light;  and  the  deeper 
the  darkness,  the  greater  the  light  to  follow. 

"My  God,  My  God,  Why  hast  thou  forsaken 
Me,"  is  the  last  despairing  cry  of  the  old  expiring 
Consciousness  of  Sin-and-Death. 

This  wail  of  despair  shows  conclusively  that 
the  "  Son  of  Man "  suffered  alone  without  the 
"  Son  of  God's  "  presence.  For  the  expression, 
"  My  God,"  means  the  Christ,  and  not  the 
Father.  "Jehovah,"  "  Lord,"  "  Lord  God,"  and 
"  My  God  "  are  terms  for  the  Christ. 

This  Great  Allegoric  Tragedy  was  enacted  and 
written  to  show  us  that  we  must  crucify  the  old 
Self — the  Carnal-Mind-Consciousness,  in  order 
that  the  Christ  in  us  may  come  forth  into  Con- 
sciousness by  a  great  Resurrection  from  the  dead 
—  the  Consciousness  of  Life  from  the  Conscious- 
ness of  Death. 

Carnal  Mind  must  die ;  —  the  Carnal  Conscious- 


319 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

ness  must  go  out  in  darkness  —  entirely  abandoned 
by  the  Christ. 

"  IT  Is  FINISHED." 

The  old  Sin-Consciousness  goes  out  in  darkness. 

That  Consciousness  is  forever  ended.  —  It  is 
dead. 

"  There  is  no  longer  any  Consciousness  of  Sin," 
said  Paul. 

Without  the  consciousness  of  sin,  there  is  no 
sin. 

What  is  not  in  consciousness  Is  NOT  —  to  you. 

You  have  passed  through  the  greatest  of  human 
experiences,  and  have  accomplished  the  greatest 
work  for  men  on  earth.  You  have  not  merely 
destroyed  a  "false  belief";  —  but  you  have  de- 
stroyed a  whole  False  Consciousness  / 

You  have  passed  the  greatest  Evolutionary 
Boundary  for  unfolding  Man.  You  have  "  died 
unto  sin,"  — unto  the  Sin-Consciousness. 

It  is  forever  ended. 

This  is  the  "First  Death ;"— after  which  fol- 
lows the  "  First  Resurrection." 

"  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the 
First  Resurrection.  On  such  the  Second  Death 
hath  no  power." 

330 


XIII 

THE  SEVENTH  STEP  :  —  "  RESURRECTION  "  —  "  THE 
SABBATH  "  —  THE  CHRIST-CONSCIOUSNESS 

"  I  Am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life:  he  that  believeth 
on  ME,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live."  —  Jno. 
11:25. 

IN  tracing  out  the  regenerative  process  of  Spirit- 
ual Evolution,  —  in  the  more  rudimentary  Mosaic 
Course  we  recognized  in  the  symbolism  of  the 
great  Allegory  of  the  story  of  Creation  the  Law 
of  the  Soul's  unfoldment  through  Divine  order; 
beginning  with  its  chaotic  "  earth-without-form- 
and-void  state  of  mind,"  where  "  darkness  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep"  —  the  darkness  of 
ignorance ;  —  then  following  on  in  orderly  pro- 
gression through  the  alternation  of  "  evenings  " 
and  "  mornings  "  — ignorance  yielding  to  enlight- 
enment—  through  the  "Six  Days"  or  Degrees 
necessary  to  every  great  Unfoldment  —  Six 
Periods  of  working  experience,  —  the  Soul 

321 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

reached  the  great  ultimate  of  its  struggles  in 
Spiritual  Realization  —  its  "  Sabbath  of  Rest," 
—  the  nightless  Day  of  Spiritual  Illumination, 
or  Understanding.  Here  the  Soul  rests  ;  as  there 
is  no  more  work  to  be  done.  Because  in  Realiza- 
tion all  labor  ceases,  all  striving  ends, —  "And 
God  rested  on  the  Sabbath  Day  from  all  his  work, 
which  He  had  made." 

"  There  is  no  power  but  of  God."  Therefore 
in  all  your  working  it  is  God  working,  and  when 
labor  is  finished  it  is  God  resting.  You  are  "work- 
ing together  with  God"  in  all  your  evolution ;  and 
God  is  working  with  you  for  the  unfoldment  into 
manifestation  of  himself. 

When  you  are  in  the  Realization  of  your  Ideal 
you  have  reached  your  "  Sabbath." 

Realization  is  the  Day  without  a  Night;  no 
"evening"  or  "morning"  is  mentioned;  there  is 
only  DAY.  —  "  There  shall  be  no  Night  there." 

Then  in  the  "Six  Days"  or  "Steps"  of  our 
Christ  Course  we  have  outlined  the  same  process 
of  Regeneration,  as  allegorically  set  forth  in  the 
unique,  picturesque  life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the 
Representative  Man  of  the  Ages,  the  Archetypal 
Man,  whose  life  mission  was  the  burden  of  all  the 

322 


THE    SEVENTH    STEP 

prophets,  and  whose  life  course  was  the  prophecy 
of  the  experience  of  every  individual  evolving  the 
Christ-Consciousness.  His  career  pictures  or  por- 
trays our  career  in  the  way  to  the  Regenerate 
Life.  —  "  I  Am  the  WAY." 

Like  the  other  symbology,  this  also  has  its  "  Six 
Days,"  Degrees  or  Steps  to  the  same  end,  namely, 
a  regenerated  and  illuminated  mind,  with  its  coun- 
terpart, a  redeemed  and  regenerated  body, — 
which  is  represented  by  the  Resurrection  of  the 
body  of  Jesus. 

The  "  Sabbath  "  of  the  Mosaic  record  is  sym- 
bolic of  the  Soul's  rest  in  the  completion  of  its 
evolution  from  the  Adam-Consciousness  to  the 
Christ-Consciousness.  And  this  also  is  symbolized 
by  the  Resurrection.  Both  represent  the  Spiritual 
Consciousness  attained. 

The  First  Great  Step  in  this  Way  of  Spiritual 
unfoldment  is  the  Immaculate  Conception  and 
New  Birth,  —  the  Conception  of  the  Divine  Idea 
or  Living  Germ- Principle  in  Consciousness.  This 
Infant  Conception  is  to  be  unfolded,  until  it 
becomes  a  Consciousness.  The  New  Birth  is  the 
Initial  Step  for  every  Initiate  in  the  Way  of  the 
True  Christian  Life,  —  the  Higher  Christianity. 

323 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

The  Second  Great  Step  is  the  Soul's  unfold- 
ment  in  Wisdom,  which  is  indicated  by  the  mysti- 
cal expression  "  Twelve  Years  Old." 

This  unfoldment  continues  until  the  fulness  of 
Wisdom  is  attained. 

Wisdom  is  the  Spiritual  Nutrition  of  the  Soul, 
which  sustains  and  builds  it  up  in  strength  and 
power,  unfolding  its  manhood  to  the  "  Stature  of 
Christ."  It  is  by  the  appropriation  and  assimila- 
tion of  Truth  that  the  Soul  "  grows  up  into  Christ 
its  living  head."  Attaining  which,  it  receives  its 
baptismal  enduement,  and  the  revelation :  "  This 
is  my  Beloved  Son."  This  is  the  climax  and  end 
of  the  Second  Degree  in  Regeneration. 

The  Third  Great  Step,  is  Overcoming  and  Dis- 
crimination. 

Here  you  wrestled  with  temptation  and  prevailed, 
like  a  Son  of  God.  Here  you  solved  the  great 
problem  of  Good  and  Evil,  and  thus  demonstrated 
your  Son-ship.  For  the  things  which  are  revealed 
by  the  Spirit  must  be  demonstrated  by  the  unfold- 
ing Neophyte  in  the  wilderness  of  practical  life, 
before  it  is  his  own  Good. 

Here  all  things  of  temptation  (4  X  10)  must  be 
met,  and  all  things  of  overcoming  must  be  accom- 


THE   SEVENTH    STEP 

plished.  In  the  victorious  issue  of  this  demonstra- 
tion you  "  return  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit." 

Thus  your  Sonship,  which  was  so  clearly  re- 
vealed by  the  Spirit,  you  have  demonstrated  to 
yourself  by  overcoming  like  a  Son. 

The  Fourth  Great  Step,  is  Demonstration  —  in 
words  and  works,  —  healing  the  sick  and  reforming 
the  sinner  in  demonstration  of  your  understanding 
and  appropriation  of  the  principles  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven. 

The  Fifth  Great  Step,  is  "  Gethsemane  "  or  Self- 
renunciation,  —  a  most  heart-searching  experience. 
Not  until  we  have  learned  this  lesson  and  put  it  in 
practice  can  we  know  and  conform  to  the  Divine 
Will. 

"  Not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt,"  must  be  the 
language  of  the  Soul,  even  to  utter  self-renuncia- 
tion, before  you  can  advance  to  Calvary,  and 
attain  through  experience  to  that  sublime  Con- 
sciousness—  the  Resurrection.  Many  have  taken 
the  First  Four  Steps  successfully ;  while  few  have 
had  the  courage  and  strength  of  purpose  to  pass 
the  severe  ordeal  of  Gethsemane.  And  therefore 
many  fail  of  the  highest  Spiritual  attainment  in 


325 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Consciousness.  Yet  Gethsemane  is  the  key  to  the 
Resurrected  Life. 

The  Sixth  Great  Step,  is  Crucifixion  —  another 
deep  experience  of  the  heart — the  one  necessarily 
preceding  and  making  possible  the  transcendent 
glories  of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  in  Conscious- 
ness. 

We  must  Crucify  (cross  out)  the  Carnal  Self — 
the  "  Son  of  Man,"  before  the  True  Self,  the  "  Son 
of  God  "  can  be  realized  in  Consciousness. 

In  order  to  have  the  full  realization  of  Divinity 
in  Consciousness  the  Sixth  Step  must  be  taken, 
even  to  the  sealing  of  the  tomb  of  the  Carnal  Con- 
sciousness —  if  we  would  have  the  Christ  come 
forth  bursting  the  bars  of  death,  triumphant  over 
the  "  last  enemy." 

Thus  only  by  going  all  the  Christ-Way  may 
you  be  able  to  gain  the  CHRIST-CONSCIOUSNESS. 
There  is  no  other  Way  —  "I  Am  the  Way." 

In  the  Crucifixion  we  read,  that  the  soldiers 
divided  his  outer  garments  freely  among  them- 
selves ;  while  his  Inner  Garment,  the  "  Seamless 
Robe,"  they  gambled  for,  to  determine  "whose  it 
shall  be."  Esoterically  the  gaiments  of  Christ 
are  the  covering  or  clothing  of  Truth  —  the  lan- 

326 


THE   SEVENTH    STEP 

guage  in  which  we  clothe  it ;  or  the  doctrines  we 
formulate  from  it. 

The  "  outer  garments  "  are  the  literal  expres- 
sions of  the  teachings  of  Christ, — the  "letter  of 
the  Word ;  "  to  which  every  one  may  freely  help 
himself,  choosing  such  parts  as  suit  his  purpose,  in 
formulating  his  theological  doctrines,  to  express 
his  intellectual  conception  of  the  Truth  of  Christ, 
—  Truth  which  is  Christ. 

The  "  Inner  Garment "  or  "  Seamless  Robe  "  is 
the  Interior  Sense  or  Spiritual  Meaning,  which  is 
one  and  indivisible,  symmetrical  and  unrendable. 
Therefore  the  Soldiers  say :  "  Let  us  not  rend  it, 
but  cast  lots,  whose  it  shall  be." 

The  symmetrical  beauty  of  a  statement  of  Truth 
always  commends  itself  to  the  accurate  logician ; 
though  he  may  not  see  beyond  the  intellectual  ex- 
pression of  it,  — which  is  but  a  symbolic  formula, 
that  is  never  quite  capable  of  revealing  the  Spirit- 
ual Idea. 

The  gambling  for  the  "  seamless  robe  of  Christ  " 
indicates  the  universal  claim  for  its  possession  on 
the  part  of  the  "  soldiers  of  the  Cross,"  —  the  de- 
fenders of  the  faith.  But  as  in  gambling  there  is 
always  doubt  "  whose  it  shall  be,"  until  the  die  is 

327 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

cast,  —  so  in  every  Creed  or  statement  of  Truth 
there  always  exists  a  lingering  doubt,  whether 
Creed  is  Absolute  Truth  —  whether  this  or  that 
Creed.  Nevertheless  each  is  persistent  in  his 
claim. 

This  is  just  what  is  going  on  between  the  various 
churches  in  the  advocacy  of  their  Creeds.  Yet 
Creed  is  not  Truth  Absolute.  For  that  cannot  be 
put  into  any  intellectual  formula.  It  is  greater 
than  words.  But  if  Creed  is  the  perfect  formula, 
—  if  Dogma  is  Truth,  why  this  everlasting  argu- 
ment to  prove  it? 

TRUTH  does  not  hang  on  argument,  nor  does 
it  need  to  be  intellectually  proved.  It  is  self-evi- 
dent, and  "  commends  itself  to  every  man's  con- 
science," —  commends  itself  to  the  Inner  Man, 
who  always  knows. 

But  after  all  this  debating  (gambling),  Dogma 
is  not  the  genuine  article.  It  is  merely  human 
Opinion,  which  therefore  needs  to  be  sustained  by 
argument.  It  belongs  to  the  Realm  of  Intellect; 
while  Truth  is  of  the  Spiritual  Realm.  He  who 
rests  in  Creed  dwells  in  the  realm  of  illusions, 
which  blind  the  eyes  to  Spiritual  Truth. 

The  reason  men  have  doubts  concerning  Dogma 
328 


THE   SEVENTH    STEP 

is  because  the  Spiritual  Self,  the  Son  of  God 
within,  which  has  been  kept  under  by  boastful  In- 
tellect, and  which  always  knows  Truth,  is  letting 
its  voice  be  heard  through  the  mists  of  Carnal 
Mind,  and  would  fain  lead  into  all  Truth,  if  only 
they  would  listen  to  its  unerring  Voice. 

When  you  have  made  the  sublime  demonstra- 
tion of  the  Resurrection  Consciousness,  through 
triumphing  over  the  Carnal  Self,  with  its  arrogant 
Intellect,  thus  bringing  into  consciousness  the 
Heavenly  Man,  —  then  Dogma  will  be  outgrown. 
It  will  have  served  its  day ;  but  now  will  be  as  use- 
less as  the  empty  shell  of  the  lazy  grub  that  once 
crawled  on  the  bottom  of  the  pond,  —  after  it  has 
released  the  gorgeous  dragonfly.  It  had  a  use  on 
the  lower  plane  of  the  merely  "  Natural  Man ;  " 
but  on  the  plane  of  the  "  Son  of  God,"  the  plane 
of  Spiritual  Realization,  it  will  have  no  place.  He 
who  is  in  Spiritual  Realization  will  not  care  about 
Catechisms.  For  he  dwells  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father,  having  the  full  fruition  of  all  that  Creed 
designs  to  teach. 

Having  taken  the  Six  Steps  in  Regeneration; 
having  destroyed  the  Sin-Consciousness ;  having 
"  died  unto  sin,"  —  so  that  "  there  remains  no 

329 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

more  consciousness  of  sins,"  —  you  stand  at  the 
threshold  of  the  Resurrection  of  Life,  the  tri- 
umphant Consciousness  of  Holiness.  —  "Enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

This  is  the  "  New  Jerusalem,"  the  Beautiful  City 
of  God  with  its  streets  of  Gold  and  its  Gates  of 
Pearl. 

"  If  we  have  been  in  the  likeness  (figure)  of  his 
death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  (figure)  of 
his  resurrection ;  knowing  this,  that  the  old  man  is 
crucified  with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be 
destroyed ;  for  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin  " 
(Rom.  6:  5-7). 

This  means,  that  the  Carnal  Consciousness  is 
dead  through  Crucifixion ;  because  we  have  been 
united  with  him  "  in  the  likeness  of  his  death." 
And  by  reason  of  the  death  of  the  sin-conscious- 
ness,'we  shall  have  the  consciousness  of  his  Resur- 
rection, —  His  Likeness. 

It  is  ours  by  right  of  inheritance,  and  becomes 
ours  consciously,  when  we  have  solved  our  prob- 
lem, in  the  allegory  of  his  death  and  resurrection. 
Therefore  in  the  Consciousness  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion "  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you ;  for 


330 


THE    SEVENTH    STEP 

ye  are  not  under  Law,  but  under  Grace  "  (Rom. 

6:14). 

He  who  has  passed  the  Crucifixion  stage  of  de- 
velopment does  not  sin,  because  he  is  freed  from 
the  consciousness  of  sin,  and  is  under  Grace. 
What  is  not  in  consciousness  is  not,  to  that  one. 

In  the  Crucifixion,  while  the  body  was  slain  it 
was  not  destroyed.  It  was  rather  redeemed  and 
Spiritualized  through  death.  For  while  the  body 
of  mortality  and  matter  went  into  the  tomb,  in  the 
Resurrection  the  same  body  came  forth  from  the 
tomb  transformed  into  a  glorious  Spiritual  body, 
forever  freed  from  all  that  had  made  it  mortal  or 
material.  So  in  the  esoteric  correspondence  of 
this  allegoric  death,  in  crucifying  Carnal  Mind,  we 
are  not  destroying  the  mind.  For  while  the  body 
was  slain,  it  was  thereby  redeemed  and  made 
glorious.  So  while  the  mortal  Soul  is  slain,  only 
its  carnality  has  perished  —  the  Sinner-Conscious- 
ness,—  and  redemption  and  a  transformed  Con- 
sciousness is  the  result. 

Then  with  the  consciousness  transformed,  puri- 
fied, regenerated,  and  illuminated,  will  inevitably 
result  a  corresponding  transformation  in  the  body, 
—  making  it  "  like  His  most  glorious  body." 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Through  the  crucifixion  of  the  Sinner-Self  you 
have  lost  the  old  Sinner-Consciousness ;  and  from 
out  of  that  death  you  must  arise  purified  and  glo- 
rious in  the  Resurrection-Consciousness,  forever 
free  from  the  "  curse  of  the  Law."  The  Law  was 
made  for  the  Sin-Consciousness ;  therefore  in  the 
Resurrection-Consciousness  you  are  above  Law. 
"  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them 
that  are  in  Christ-Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh  but  after  the  Spirit." 

The  transformation  that  took  place  in  the  body 
of  Jesus  was  accomplished  through  the  Spiritual- 
ization  of  his  mind ;  which  wrought  the  Spiritual- 
ization  of  his  body ;  until  only  Spiritual  properties 
remained.  Through  the  Spiritualizing  process  of 
Regeneration  the  body  ceased  to  be  longer  ma- 
terial, having  been  transformed  thereby  "  into  the 
image  of  the  heavenly." 

The  same  purifying  thought  power  had  trans- 
formed Elijah's  body  into  a  Spiritual  body;  so 
that  he  escaped  death  by  translation.  Both  Jesus 
and  Elijah  triumphed  over  death  by  Spiritual 
evolution.  Both  attained  to  the  Spiritual  Con- 
sciousness, which  wrought  the  redemption  of  their 
bodies,  —  the  one  being  resurrected  and  the  other 

332 


THE    SEVENTH    STEP 

translated,  —  Elijah  being  a  type  for  one  age, 
Jesus  for  another. 

If  a  material  consciousness  has  given  our  bodies 
their  material  appearance  and  properties,  then  a 
transformed  consciousness  must  culminate  in  a 
transformed  body  by  natural  law.  This  is  the 
secret  and  mystery  of  Redemption.  The  mystery 
disappears,  when  the  secret  is  found.  When  we 
understand  all  mysteries,  we  shall  be  at  one  with 
Omniscience  and  have  all  Wisdom. 

John  said,  "  The  Son  of  God  was  manifested, 
that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil." 
Wherever,  whenever,  and  by  whomsoever  the  "  Son 
of  God  is  manifested "  in  consciousness,  —  the 
devil-consciousness  must  disappear ;  —  the  devil  in 
consciousness  must  be  destroyed  by  the  Christ 
in  consciousness.  Thus  the  Christ  destroys  the 
works  of  the  devil  from  consciousness. 

Death,  the  greatest  work  of  the  devil,  had  to  be 
destroyed,  —  its  King,  personified  Evil,  had  to  be 
met  and  vanquished  on  his  own  ground  —  in  his 
own  stronghold,  the  Tomb.  This  herculean  task 
Jesus  undertook  and  triumphantly  accomplished. 
"  He  descended  into  Hell  (the  tomb),  that  through 
death  he  might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of 

333 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

death,  and  deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death 
were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage  "  (Heb. 
2:14-15). 

Thus  a  transformed  mind  carries  with  it  its  cor- 
responding expression,  a  transformed  body.  This 
is  the  body  of  health  —  even,  in  its  ultimate,  per- 
petual youth. 

Because  we  have  put  especial  emphasis  on  the 
Spiritual,  we  have  not  decried  or  underrated  the 
body.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  Divinely  perfect 
in  form  and  function,  its  perfect  health  being  essen- 
tial to  highest  Spiritual  development.  Only  in  the 
old  thought  had  we  underrated  it.  Calling  it  earthy, 
it  was  earthy,  and  tended  to  earth.  "  Dust  to 
dust "  was  its  law.  But  in  the  higher  understand- 
ing we  have  learned  that  all  things  are  Spiritual 
in  origin  and  essence ;  and  that  the  body  is  a 
Spiritual  temple,  holy  and  Divine. 

Therefore  in  the  ultimate  of  Regeneration  we 
may  look  for  the  demonstration  of  its  Spirituality, 
in  its  conformity  to  the  Divine  pattern  of  perfec- 
tion. 

Speaking  of  Spiritual  perception  as  a  faculty  of 
the  Spiritual  Man,  we  are  not  considering  the 
Spiritual  Man  as  a  being  without  a  body.  For 

334 


THE   SEVENTH    STEP 

Man  is  never  without  a  body.  He  is  a  three-fold 
being,  at  once  Body,  Soul,  and  Spirit.  Spiritual 
perception  is  a  faculty  of  Man  —  three-fold  Man,  — 
that  faculty  by  which  he  may  cognize  God,  and 
know  God  within  himself.  This  is  his  highest 
faculty.  Even  Spiritual  perception  has  relation  to 
body  and  brain ;  which  is  true  of  all  Spiritual  fac- 
ulties. 

For  on  the  under  side  of  the  brain,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  its  hemispheres,  just  at  the  junction  of  the 
branches  of  the  optic  nerves,  and  in  the  field  of 
all  the  perceptives  —  indicating  a  relation  to  per- 
ception —  is  located  a  small  round  process  or  uvula- 
shaped  protuberance,  called  the  "  pineal  gland  "  or 
conarium; — an  organ,  whose  function  has  to 
Occidental  physiologists  always  been  a  mystery ; 
but  to  which  Oriental  physiologists  and  philoso- 
phers ascribe  the  function  of  Spiritual  perception. 
They  have  observed,  that  in  persons  of  large 
Spirituality  it  is  large  and  full ;  while  in  those  defi- 
cient in  Spirituality  it  is  shrunken  or  nearly  obliter- 
ated. Des  Cartes  called  it,  the  "  seat  of  the  scul ;" 
the  Brahmans  call  it,  "  The  Eye  of  Siva,  "  or  the 
Spiritual  eye.  This  is  its  most  probable  function. 

This  being  a  projection  from  the  brain,  it  indi- 
335 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

cates  that  in  Spiritual  perception  we  make  use  of 
the  brain ;  for  whether  we  perform  our  functions 
on  the  animal  or  Spiritual  planes,  we  use  the  brain, 
in  either  case. 

The  conarium,  then,  is  the  physical  organ  of 
Spiritual  Sight.  —  the  Eye  of  the  Soul,  the  "  All- 
seeing  Eye  "  of  Masonry,  or  the  "  single  eye  "  of 
Jesus,  which  "  fills  the  whole  body  full  of  light." 
Spiritual  illumination  must  come  through  this  or- 
gan, which  always  looks  within,  beholding  the 
Spiritual  world,  which  also  is  within.  Every  man 
who  walks  the  earth  has  not  only  external  percep- 
tives,  but  internal  as  well ;  which  serve  him  ac- 
cording to  his  use  of  them.  External  perceptives 
behold  external  phenomena ;  Internal  perceptives 
behold  Spiritual  things.  They  who  recognize  only 
the  physical  man  use  only  external  perceptives, 
and  generally  disbelieve  in  Spiritual  things ;  while 
the  man  of  large  Spirituality  lives  in  the  Spiritual, 
sees  the  Spiritual  everywhere,  sees  God  in  every- 
thing. The  one  looks  upon  phenomena,  and  calls 
them  Realities ;  the  other  sees  the  Spiritual  in  the 
phenomenal.  For  only  the  Spiritual  is  Real. 

The  one  sees  things  temporal ;  the  other  things 
eternal.  The  one  is  agnostic ;  the  other  gnostic. 

336 


THE   SEVENTH    STEP 

Trusting  only  to  the  outward-looking  eye,  man 
sees  a  world  apart  from  himself,  which  he  there- 
fore seeks  to  possess.  Trusting  to  the  inward- 
looking  eye  —  the  "single  Eye" — he  beholds  a 
world  within,  already  his ;  —  he  cannot  seek  to 
possess  what  he  has  in  realization. 

The  Spiritualization  of  mind  and  body  is  ac- 
complished by  the  constant  use  of  the  Spiritual 
faculties  of  the  Soul.  The  "  Children  of  the  Res- 
urrection" are  proficient  in  the  use  of  these 
higher  faculties. 

Evolution  is  the  order  of  life.  At  first  our  con- 
ceptions are  very  material,  and  we  use  chiefly  the 
external  senses.  At  length,  as  we  begin  the  higher 
unfoldment,  the  finer  and  more  interior  faculties 
begin  to  come  into  use,  becoming  the  more  keenly 
active  the  more  they  are  used.  "  Howbeit  that  is 
not  first  which  is  Spiritual,  but  that  which  is  natu- 
ral." 

The  Christ-Way  has  brought  us  up  from  the 
Natural  to  the  Spiritual,  —  out  of  the  darkness  of 
Egypt  into  the  "  Promised  Land." 

We  have  come  by  the  "  King's  Highway  "  — 
"  the  Way  that  is  cast  up  for  the  Ransomed  of  the 
Lord:  the  unclean  shall  not  pass  over  it;  but  the 

337 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION. 

Redeemed  shall  walk  there ;  and  the  Ransomed  of 
the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion  with  songs 
and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads"   (Is.  35: 
8-11). 

The  time  is  near  at  hand  when  death  will  not  be 
necessary  as  the  closing  act  in  the  drama  of  life. 
Because  man  will  have  solved  the  problem  of  Life, 
and  have  attained  Immortality  in  Consciousness. 

When  there  is  no  death  in  Consciousness,  there 
will  be  none  in  experience.  Therefore  there  must 
be  a  crucifixion  and  destruction  of  death  from 
consciousness.  For  just  what  the  Crucifixion  and 
death  of  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  is  designed  to  teach 
is,  that  there  must  be  an  utter  destruction  and 
elimination  from  Consciousness  of  Evil  —  Devil 
—  Carnal  Mind  —  Sin  and  Death.  Then  with  this 
sweeping  purification  of  Consciousness  there  will 
follow  the  Resurrection  of  the  CHRIST  in  Con- 
sciousness. 

To  realize  the  CHRIST  in  Consciousness  is  to 
realize  Immortality. 

"  I  Am  the  RESURRECTION  and  the  LIFE."  — 
"  Christ  hath  abolished  Death." 

In  the  realization  of  Christ  you  are  realizing 
LIFE,  —  not  Death.  Christ  and  Death  are  antithet- 

338 


THE   SEVENTH    STEP 

ical :  they  are  incompatibles,  and  cannot  co-exist 
in  Consciousness.  When  the  CHRIST  is  fully  in 
Consciousness,  Death  is  lost.  What  you  have  in 
Consciousness,  you  have  indeed ;  what  is  not  in 
Consciousness  IS  NOT  —  to  you. 

There  is  no  Salvation  except  in  Consciousness ; 
neither  any  Resurrection  except  in  Consciousness. 
Therefore  the  Consciousness  of  being  Risen  with 
CHRIST  is  the  Great  Salvation. 

Through  Regeneration  you  are  accomplishing  a 
Great  Evolution,  —  passing  a  great  Evolutionary 
Boundary  —  out  of  the  Consciousness  of  Sin-and- 
Death,  into  the  Consciousness  of  LIFE  and  Immor- 
tality, Holiness  and  Health  perennial.  This  great 
change  in  Consciousness  is  called,  "  The  First 
Resurrection;  "  — a  change  impossible  without  a 
Death  —  "  the  First  Death ;  "  —  that  you  may  have 
a  Resurrection  from  the  Dead.  This  is  the  "  vic- 
tory over  Death." 

"  I  AM  THE  RESURRECTION  AND  THE  LIFE." 

"  /  Am  "  is  the  name  of  the  Christ  —  the  Great- 
est Name  —  the  Name,  "  before  which  every  knee 
shall  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess." 

But  in  order  correctly  to  utter  this  "  Unutterable 
339 


SPIRITUAL   EVOLUTION 

Name,"  you  must  know  the  Christ  within.  In  other 
words,  if  you  would  know  the  meaning  and  power 
of  "  I  Am,"  you  must  stand  in  the  Christ-Con- 
sciousness. But  the  "  Children  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion" know  and  understand. 

No  doubt  few  attain  to  this  Consciousness  of 
Highest  Things.  Nevertheless  it  is  attainable ; 
because  He  who  has  become  our  Pattern  has  trav- 
elled this  way  himself,  thereby  demonstrating  its 
possibility  of  attainment. 

The  Church  visible  is  not  in  this  wonderful  Con- 
sciousness. It  is  an  experience  for  the  individual, 
who  is  willing  to  "  lose  his  life,  that  he  may  find 
it."  These  few  are  the  "  Children  of  the  Resur- 
rection "  — the  "Church  Triumphant,"  —  whether 
they  are  in  the  visible  Church  or  not.  They  find 
the  Church  within  their  own  breasts,  and  walk  the 
streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  conscious  of  their 
Christ-Righteousness.  "  These  are  they,  who  have 
come  up  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb."  They  have  destroyed  the  Sin-and- 
death-Consciousness  (died  unto  sin) — have  passed 
through  the  "  First  Death ;  "  so  that  Death  is  elim- 
inated from  consciousness,  and  therefore  cannot 

34° 


THE    SEVENTH    STEP 

come  into  experience.  To  these  there  can  be  no 
"  second  death,"  since  they  are  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  Life. 

The  Heavenly  Man  —  the  Christ-Self — is  on 
his  throne  —  in  Consciousness. 

You  are  conscious  of  the  Christ  living  and 
reigning  in  you. 

A  few  Spiritually  illuminated  Theologians  are 
perceiving  that  it  is  the  spirit  and  genius  of  the 
New  Testament  to  reveal  to  men,  that  death  is  not 
a  necessity ;  but  rather  that  Immortality  belongs  to 
man  by  an  inherent  law  of  his  Being,  and  is  attain- 
able through  the  law  of  unfoldment,  as  set  forth  and 
demonstrated  by  the  meek  and  lowly  Nazarene. 

Rev.  A.  C.  Dickinson,  D.D.,  says:  "When  the 
whole  race  is  born  of  the  Spirit  and  lives  in  the 
Spirit,  it  is  quite  possible  that  their  translation 
into  the  resurrection  state  will  be  as  far  from  what 
we  call  dissolution  and  corruption,  as  was  that  of 
Enoch  and  Elijah." 

Then  it  follows,  that  what  is  possible  for  the 
whole  race  under  a  favoring  environment  is  pos- 
sible for  the  individual  who  is  able  to  demonstrate 
over  an  adverse  environment,  as  is  shown  by  the 
examples  of  Enoch,  Elijah,  and  Jesus. 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Again  the  Doctor  says :  "  If  a  man  would  live, 
and  live  forever,  he  must  know  Christ  and  the 
power  of  his  resurrection.  The  Spirit,  which  con- 
trols the  life  cells  of  his  being,  which  keeps  him 
alive  from  day  to  day,  by  building  up  and  renew- 
ing his  physical  body,  and  which  is  at  the  same 
time  working  on  the  invisible  Spiritual  body,  must 
be  in  vital  touch  with  the  spirit  of  Christ,  '  whom,' 
in  this  sense,  '  to  know  aright  is  Life  Eternal/ 
.  .  .  the  renewed  life  batteries  shall  send 
their  pulsations  through  every  channel  of  your 
being ;  the  old  man  shall  be  put  off,  and  the  new 
man  shall  be  put  on ;  your  face  shall  change ;  it 
shall  lose  its  look  of  worry  and  care,  and  make 
smiles  of  its  wrinkles." 

After  the  Resurrection  Jesus  was  invisible  to 
mortals,  except  as  occasionally  some  of  his  Spirit- 
ually unfolded  followers  got  glimpses  of  him,  and 
held  converse  with  him  on  those  favoring  occa- 
sions. 

In  human  experience  all  these  things  have  their 
correspondential  application  or  fulfilment.  And 
thus  under  this  symbology  the  world,  even  the 
Church,  sees  not  the  Spiritual  life  of  the  man  who 
has  attained  the  Christ-Consciousness.  He  walks 

342 


THE   SEVENTH    STEP 

the  earth  and  appears  like  other  men.  The  inner 
life  of  the  God-Consciousness  is  never  seen.  Only 
occasionally  the  most  Spiritually  developed  get 
glimpses  of  Christ  in  his  life.  Yet  while  he  walks 
the  earth,  a  man  among  men,  he  lives  among  the 
stars ;  he  breathes  the  ether  of  heaven ;  his  food  is 
the  ambrosia  of  the  gods;  the  very  "  Ichor  of  the 
gods  "  circulates  in  his  veins;  he  walks  with  God. 
And  the  possible  ultimate  experience  must  event- 
ually be  like  that  of  Enoch,  who  "walked  with 
God,  and  was  not,  for  God  had  translated  him." 

As  the  Ascension  of  the  Resurrected  Body  of 
Jesus  took  place  at  the  end  of  "forty  days"  after 
the  Resurrection,  so  we  must  have  a  full  and  per- 
fected experience  (4X10)  in  the  Resurrected 
Consciousness,  while  in  the  body,  before  we  can 
be  translated  to  the  invisible  altitudes,  where  in 
the  fruition  of  Divinity  in  Consciousness  all  that 
was  earthly  will  have  forever  passed  away.  What 
further  possibilities  of  unfolding  greatness  await 
the  translated  soul,  only  the  Eternities  can  reveal. 
"  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  First 
Resurrection.  On  such,  the  Second  Death  shall 
have  no  power ;  but  they  shall  live  and  reign  with 
Christ  a  thousand  years." 

343 


CONCLUSION 

CHRISTENDOM  has  scarcely  awakened  to  the 
deeper  meaning  of  Christianity,  and  the  vast  pos- 
sibilities of  unfoldment  and  realization,  which  are 
the  privilege  of  any  one  who  will  studiously  apply 
himself  to  the  unfoldment  of  the  Christ  within. 

We  have  scarcely  touched  the  hem  of  the  gar- 
ment of  the  Living  Christ ;  and  consequently  have 
not  perceived  or  even  conceived  the  glories  ready 
to  be  revealed  through  the  fuller  realization  of  the 
Living  Christ  in  Consciousness. 

Our  difficulty  has  been  that  we  have  had  a  far- 
away God  and  a  far-away  Christ  which  has  made 
these  high  realizations  impossible  in  the  present 
tense.  Consequently  we  have  referred  them  to  a 
future  state  of  existence,  where  we  have  hoped  to 
realize  them. 

This,  when  we  carefully  examine  it,  is  a  sort  of 
indefinite  postponement.  Like  Moses  we  have 
"  seen  them  afar  off;  "  and  so  they  have  always 
been  "  afar  off"  from  realization.  We  have  had  a 

344 


CONCLUSION 

far-away  heaven  because  we  had  forgotten  the 
plain  words  of  the  Master.  "  Lo !  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  is  within  you."  The  "  delectable  moun- 
tains "  are  always  in  the  far  distance.  They  are  a 
far-away  Ideal,  which  we  have  a  right  to  have  in 
realization.  We  must  learn  to  realize  our  Ideal ; 
and  thus  take  possession  of  our  own  Divine  In- 
heritance, —  which  is  already  ours,  only  awaiting 
our  acceptance  and  demonstration,  to  become  ours 
in  Consciousness. 

A  wonderful  transformation  is  coming  to  men 
when  they  stop  singing  "  In  the  Sweet  By  and 
By,"  and  believe  in  the  Now-ness  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven,  and  the  Now-ness  of  the  glories  of  the 
Celestial  City,  the  Now-ness  of  the  "  New  Jerusa- 
lem," with  all  its  picturesque  beauty.  For  only 
by  the  realization  of  Divinity  within  —  Christ 
within — the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  within,  can  we 
have  the  full  revelation  in  this  life  of  the  transcen- 
dent glories  soon  to  be  revealed  —  ready  to  be 
revealed  to  him  who  is  ready  for  the  revelation. 

The  First  Resurrection  is  not  a  thing  for  a  future 
world  or  a  future  state.  It  is  rather  something  to 
be  experienced  in  this  life  and  state  of  existence, 
—  something  for  the  individual,  who  lives  the 

345 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Christ  Life,  —  something  for  you  —  not  somebody 
else.  "  There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth, 
Horatio,  than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy." 
There  are  deeper  and  more  glorious  experiences 
awaiting  us  in  this  life  than  are  dreamed  of  or  even 
conceived  by  man.  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man 
the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him,"  —  right  where  you  are  —  in  this  life. 
Why  should  we  put  it  off,  and  so  make  the  dem- 
onstration impossible?  Why  should  we  say,  "In 
the  great  beyond"  —  "somewhere,  sometime," 
and  so  put  the  highest  unfoldment  in  conscious- 
ness beyond  the  possibility  of  realization,  and  thus 
defraud  ourselves  of  the  wonderful  things  already 
"  prepared  "  for  us,  for  realization,  just  as  soon  as 
we  are  prepared  for  them? 

We  have  relegated  holiness  to  a  far  distant,  un- 
known life  and  state,  —  thus  making  it  impossible 
by  such  an  indefinite  postponement,  excusing  our- 
selves from  becoming  consciously  what  we  are 
eternally  and  potentially. 

We  have  forgotten  that  "  Now  is  the  accepted 
time,  and  behold  !  Now  is  the  day  of  Salvation." 
Strictly  speaking,  all  that  we  can  ask  for  is  in  the 

346 


CONCLUSION 

Now.  Holiness  is  always  Now  —  not  a  something 
to  be  made  "  or  established."  "  Men  go  about  to 
establish  their  own  Righteousness,  and  have  not 
submitted  themselves  unto  the  Righteousness  of 
God,"  said  Paul.  We  have  not  recognized  "  the 
Righteousness  that  is  by  Faith  "  —  not  that  will  be 
—  but  that  IS. 

The  way  to  have  Righteousness  in  Conscious- 
ness is  through  the  recognition  of  it  as  already  ex- 
istent and  eternally  made  and  "  established."  Men 
and  institutions  are  forever  trying  to  make  some- 
thing they  call  righteousness,  as  though  an  eternal 
principle  could  be  made.  What  they  make  is  only 
an  imitation,  a  counterfeit  —  not  the  genuine  arti- 
cle. For  the  genuine  article  is  an  Eternal  and  un- 
changing Principle,  eternally  "established."  The 
everlasting  Principle  of  Truth  cannot  be  made. 
It  is  all  about  and  within  us,  ever  awaiting  our 
recognition.  Eternal  Righteousness  and  unchange- 
able Holiness  is  the  Omnipresent  Christ,  the  Prin- 
ciple of  Truth,  which  is  forever  "  established,"  and 
shall  forever  remain. 

Therefore  if  we  would  have  Righteousness   in 
Consciousness,  we  must  recognize  "the  Righteous- 
ness that  Is,"  —  the    Christ  within  —  the  Divine 
347 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

Self — the  Son  of  God.  For  if  we  would  know 
God,  we  must  recognize  God ;  if  we  would  be 
conscious  of  Holiness,  we  must  recognize  Holiness 
within  —  the  Holiness  of  the  Christ,  which  eter- 
nally is. 

The  key  to  holiness  is  Holiness ;  the  key  to 
Divinity  is  Divinity.  You  are  never  to  say,  "  Lo ! 
here !  "  or  "  Lo  !  there  !  "  All  is  within. 

All  that  you  desire  to  be,  the  highest  to  which 
you  aspire,  already  is,  and  lies  waiting  for  your 
recognition,  before  it  can  be  manifest  to  conscious- 
ness —  before  it  can  be  your  own  conscious  Good. 
When  Christ  is  fully  manifest  to  Consciousness, 
then  you  have  attained  to  the  Consciousness  of  the 
Christ,  —  the  Christ-Consciousness. 

The  Illuminati  are  they  who  realize  what  they 
are. 

The  Resurrection-Consciousness  is  attained 
through  the  realization  of  God.  For  by  the  rec- 
ognition and  realization  of  God  we  become  God  to 
a  degree,  —  we  become  conscious  of  God —  God- 
Conscious. 

What  we  love  most  we  become  to  a  degree. 
Through  loving  God  we  become  God  to  the  degree 
of  our  Love  and  realization. 

348 


CONCLUSION 

"  Whate'er  thou  lovest  most, 
That,  too,  become  thou  must  — 
God,  if  thou  lovest  God  — 
Dust,  if  thou  lovest  Dust." 

Therefore  by  persistently  recognizing  the  Christ 
within  —  the  great  Fountain  of  Love  and  Wisdom 
—  we  gradually  unfold  the  Consciousness  of  Love 
and  Wisdom  —  the  Consciousness  of  God. 

In  the  very  near  future  man  is  to  have  a  fuller 
realization  of  Divinity  in  Consciousness.  He  must 
become  God-Conscious. 

This  will  be  our  Resurrection. 

Do  men  ever  have  such  experiences?  Do  men 
have  anything  like  the  Resurrection-Conscious- 
ness? 

Listen  to  the  statement  of  one,  whose  Resur- 
rected life  was  a  continual  demonstration  of  Di- 
vinity. 

The  late  George  Muller  was  once  asked  what 
was  the  secret  of  his  wonderful  service  and  phe- 
nomenal successes,  and  he  replied : 

"  There  was  a  day  when  I  utterly  died  —  utterly 
died  (and  as  he  spoke  these  words,  he  bent  for- 
ward lower  and  lower  until  his  head  almost  touched 
the  floor)  —  died  to  George  Muller,  his  opinions, 

349 


SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION 

preferences,  tastes,  and  will;  died  to  the  world,  its 
approval  and  censure ;  died  to  the  blame  or  ap- 
proval of  brothers  and  friends  ;  —  and  since  then  I 
have  studied  only  to  show  myself  approved  of 
God." 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


STACK  ANNEX 

FEB  1  3  1987  \ 


FEB  13  1987 


lit 


3  1158  01132  9553 


A     000106963    2 


